Search

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the effect of dietary ground licuri on lamb performance. Methods Forty male lambs were used in a completely randomized design to test the effects of 0, 5, 10, and 15 g/kg of ground licuri added to diets. The trial lasted for 75 days. Intake, digestibility, physically effective neutral detergent fiber, and chewing activity were estimated. Blood samples were taken on day 45 to determine the concentrations of glucose, urea, non-esterified fatty acids, and triglycerides. Average daily gain (ADG) were determined on the last day of the experimental trial. Results Licuri inclusion markedly increased dietary neutral detergent fiber and ether extract (EE) content, but it decreased dry matter (DM) intake. However, the intake and digestibility of EE linearly increased. The ADG decreased linearly (p0.05) on the concentrations of blood metabolites; however, blood urea increased (p

Background Cardiac biomarkers provide objective data that augments clinical assessment of heart disease ( HD). Hypothesis/Objectives Determine the utility of plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide concentration [NT-proBNP] measured by a 2nd generation canine ELISA assay to discriminate cardiac from noncardiac respiratory distress and evaluate HD severity. Animals Client-owned dogs (n = 291). Methods Multicenter, cross-sectional, prospective investigation. Medical history, physical examination, echocardiography, and thoracic radiography classified 113 asymptomatic dogs (group 1, n = 39 without HD; group 2, n = 74 with HD), and 178 with respiratory distress (group 3, n = 104 respiratory disease, either with or without concurrent HD; group 4, n = 74 with congestive heart failure [ CHF]). HD severity was graded using International Small Animal Cardiac Health Council ( ISACHC) and ACVIM Consensus ( ACVIM- HD) schemes without knowledge of [NT-proBNP] results. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis assessed the capacity of [NT-proBNP] to discriminate between dogs with cardiac and noncardiac respiratory distress. Multivariate general linear models containing key clinical variables tested associations between [NT-proBNP] and HD severity. Results Plasma [NT-proBNP] (median; IQR) was higher in CHF dogs (5,110; 2,769-8,466 pmol/L) compared to those with noncardiac respiratory distress (1,287; 672-2,704 pmol/L; P < .0001). A cut-off >2,447 pmol/L discriminated CHF from noncardiac respiratory distress (81.1% sensitivity; 73.1% specificity; area under curve, 0.84). A multivariate model comprising left atrial to aortic ratio, heart rate, left ventricular diameter, end-systole, and ACVIM- HD scheme most accurately associated average plasma [NT-proBNP] with HD severity. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Plasma [NT-proBNP] was useful for discriminating CHF from noncardiac respiratory distress. Average plasma [NT-BNP] increased significantly as a function of HD severity using the ACVIM- HD classification scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owners' perceptions and priorities regarding quality of life (QoL) are important considerations given the unknown efficacy of many commonly administered medications, stress of hospital visits, difficulties providing home care, and personal choices including euthanasia. To describe the relative importance of quality versus quantity of life to owners of cats with heart disease. Two hundred and thirty-nine cats with heart disease. Prospective questionnaire-based clinical study. Cat owners completed a questionnaire to identify important parameters when assessing their cat's QoL, the relative importance of quality versus quantity of life, and willingness to trade survival time for QoL. Variables associated with these parameters were evaluated with multivariate analyses. Appetite, owner interaction, sleep patterns, and litterbox habits were deemed important to QoL. Concern over pet suffering was significantly greater than concern over life expectancy. Ninety-three percent of owners were willing to trade survival time for good QoL; 57% of these were willing to trade up to 6 months. On multivariate analysis, the only factor significantly ( P= .002) associated with willingness to trade 6 months was study site. Owner concern regarding stress of administering medications at home increased with number and frequency of medications. These results indicated that QoL is more important to owners of cats with heart disease than longevity. The various priorities and concerns of cat owners should be taken into account in order to provide optimal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/objectives: Doppler echocardiographic estimation of transpulmonary pressure gradient (PG) is widely used to determine severity of pulmonary valve stenosis and indication for transcatheter intervention. The objective of this study was to describe agreement between Doppler echocardiographic methods of transpulmonary PG estimation and direct peak-to-peak pressure gradient at catheterization (PG cath ) in dogs. We hypothesized that with reference to PG cath , mean echocardiographic PG (PG echo-mean ) would have less bias than peak modal instantaneous echocardiographic PG (PG echo-peak )., Animals: Client-owned dogs with congenital pulmonary valve stenosis that underwent balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty at one of two veterinary teaching hospitals between June 2012 and May 2022 were included in this study., Materials and Methods: Cases that underwent transthoracic echocardiography and subsequent balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty separated by 30 or fewer days were retrospectively identified. For each echocardiogram, average PG echo-mean (mmHg) and average PG echo-peak (mmHg) were calculated from stored spectral Doppler recordings. Peak right ventricular-to-peak pulmonary artery PG data (mmHg) were obtained from catheterization reports. Bland-Altman analysis was used to assess agreement between echocardiographic and catheterization data., Results: Data from 209 dogs (n = 215 instances) were evaluated. Proportional bias, greater at higher gradients, was observed for PG echo-mean versus PG cath (P<0.001). A constant bias of -38.12 mmHg was observed for PG echo-peak versus PG cath (P=0.62). Bias for both echocardiographic variables had wide limits of agreement that increased with PG., Conclusions: Mean Doppler echocardiographic systolic transpulmonary pressure gradient and PG echo-peak underestimated and overestimated PG cath , respectively, preventing their interchangeability with PG cath ., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest Statement The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A 7-year-old male castrated Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was hospitalized for 12 days for treatment of severe congestive heart failure secondary to myxomatous mitral valve disease. During that time, 6 serum samples from different days were analyzed for serum biochemical and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system components. Serum chloride concentrations (ranging from 71.6 to 103.1 mmol/L) were inversely related to angiotensin I concentrations, aldosterone concentrations, a surrogate marker of renin activity, and a surrogate marker of adrenal responsiveness to angiotensin II. In light of recent studies showing that hypochloremia is associated with advanced heart failure in dogs and is associated with poor outcomes in people, the information from the dog in this report supports exploration of RAAS dysregulation as an underlying mechanism., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Background: Predicting progression of myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) in dogs can be challenging., Hypothesis/objectives: The mitral regurgitation severity index (MRSI) will predict time to congestive heart failure (CHF) and all-cause death in dogs with MMVD., Animals: Eight hundred sixty-nine client-owned dogs., Methods: Retrospective study pooling data from 4 previous samples including dogs with MMVD stage B2 or C. MRSI was calculated as: (heart rate [HR]/120) × left atrium-to-aorta ratio (LA:Ao) × (age in years/10) × 100. Alternative MRSI formulas substituting radiographic measures of left atrial size were also calculated. Cox proportional hazard modeling and time-dependent receiver-operator characteristic curves quantified prognostic performance., Results: For Stage B2 pooled samples, MRSI > 156 was predictive of time to CHF (median 407 vs 1404 days; area under the curve [AUC] 0.68; hazard ratio 3.02 [95% CI 1.9-4.9]; P < .001). MRSI > 173 was predictive of all-cause death (median survival 868 vs 1843 days; AUC 0.64; hazard ratio 4.26 [95% CI 2.4-7.5]; P < .001). MRSI showed superior predictive value compared to the individual variables of HR, LA:Ao, and age. Variations of the MRSI equation substituting radiographic vertebral left atrial size for LA:Ao were also significantly predictive of outcome in stage B2. MRSI was not consistently predictive of outcome in Stage C., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: MRSI was predictive of outcome (onset of CHF and all-cause death) in MMVD Stage B2, demonstrating utility as a useful prognostic tool. Echocardiographic LA:Ao can be effectively replaced by radiographically determined LA size in the MRSI formula., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Background: Chronic renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) activation is harmful. Amlodipine activates RAAS in humans and dogs, but contradictory data exist for systemically hypertensive (SHT) cats., Hypothesis: Cats with SHT and chronic kidney disease treated with amlodipine (SHT/CKD-A) are RAAS activated., Animals: Client-owned cats: unmedicated normotensive (NT) cats ( n = 9); SHT/CKD-A cats ( n = 5) with median systolic blood pressure of 170 mmHg (vs. 195 mmHg, pre-treatment), chronic kidney disease, and receiving no RAAS-suppressive therapy., Methods: Serum was frozen (-80 °C) until RAAS analysis via equilibrium analysis. The RAAS variables (reported as median (minimum-maximum)) were compared between groups, using Mann-Whitney U test., Results: Angiotensin 1, angiotensin 1,7, angiotensin III, and angiotensin 1,5, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-2 activity were higher in SHT/CKD-A cats compared to NT cats, while ACE activity was lower in SHT/CKD-A cats compared to NT cats ( p < 0.05 all). A marker for alternative RAAS influence (ALT-S) was significantly higher (69; 58-73 pmol/pmol) in SHT/CKD-A cats compared to NT cats (35; 14-63 pmol/pmol; p = 0.001). Aldosterone concentrations were significantly higher (393; 137-564 pmol/L) in SHT/CKD-A cats compared to NT cats (129; 28-206 pmol/L; p = 0.007)., Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Circulating RAAS is activated in systemically hypertensive cats receiving amlodipine. Although this study did not parse out the individual contributions of SHT, chronic kidney disease, and amlodipine, the findings suggest that the use of concurrent RAAS-suppressant therapy, specifically aldosterone antagonism, in amlodipine-treated SHT cats with chronic kidney disease might be indicated.

The role of taurine in the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) in dogs without systemic deficiency is unexplored. Taurine might have beneficial cardiac effects aside from deficit replacement. We hypothesized that oral taurine supplementation administered to dogs with naturally-occurring CHF would suppress the renin-angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS). Oral taurine was administered to 14 dogs with stable CHF. Serum biochemical variables, blood taurine concentrations, and comprehensive analysis of RAAS variables were compared before and 2 weeks after taurine supplementation added to background furosemide and pimobendan therapy for CHF. Whole blood taurine concentrations increased after supplementation (median 408 nMol/mL, range 248-608 before and median 493 nMol/mL, range 396-690 after; P = .006). Aldosterone to angiotensin II ratio (AA2) was significantly decreased after taurine supplementation (median 1.00, range 0.03-7.05 before and median 0.65, range 0.01-3.63 after; P = .009), but no other RAAS components significantly differed between timepoints. A subset of dogs showed marked decreases in RAAS metabolites after supplementation and these dogs were more likely to have been recently hospitalized for CHF treatment than dogs that did not show marked decreases in classical RAAS metabolites. Overall, taurine only lowered AA2 in this group of dogs, however, response heterogeneity was noted, with some dogs showing RAAS suppression., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Diuretics, such as furosemide, are routinely administered to dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF). Traditionally, dose and determination of efficacy primarily are based on clinical signs rather than quantitative measures of drug action. Treatment of human CHF patients increasingly is guided by quantification of urine sodium concentration (uNa) and urine volume after diuretic administration. Use of these and other measures of diuretic responsiveness is associated with decreased duration of hospitalization, complication rates, future rehospitalization, and mortality. At their core, loop diuretics act through natriuresis, and attention to body sodium (Na) stores and handling offers insight into the pathophysiology of CHF and pharmacology of diuretics beyond what is achievable from clinical signs alone. Human patients with low diuretic responsiveness or diuretic resistance are at risk for difficult or incomplete decongestion that requires diuretic intensification or other remedial strategies. Identification of the specific etiology of resistance in a patient can help tailor personalized interventions. In this review, we advance the concept of loop diuretic responsiveness by highlighting Na and natriuresis. Specifically, we review body water homeostasis and congestion in light of the increasingly recognized role of interstitial Na, propose definitions for diuretic responsiveness and resistance in veterinary subjects, review relevant findings of recent studies, explain how the particular cause of resistance can guide treatment, and identify current knowledge gaps. We believe that a quantitative approach to loop diuretic usage primarily involving natriuresis will advance our understanding and care of dogs with CHF., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Background: A recent study showed higher high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) concentrations in healthy dogs eating grain-free (GF) compared to those eating grain-inclusive (GI) diets., Hypothesis/objectives: Healthy dogs with subclinical cardiac abnormalities eating GF diets at baseline will show improvements in cardiac biomarkers and echocardiographic variables after diet change, whereas healthy dogs eating GI diets at baseline will not improve., Animals: Twenty healthy dogs with subclinical cardiac abnormalities (12 Golden Retrievers, 5 Doberman Pinschers, 3 Miniature Schnauzers)., Methods: This prospective study included dogs with increased hs-cTnI or N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations, or echocardiographic abnormalities. Mixed modeling was used to evaluate echocardiographic, hs-cTnI, and NT-proBNP differences between groups (GF or GI diet at baseline) over time (1 y after diet change)., Results: Ten GF and 10 GI dogs were evaluated. There were statistically significant time: group interactions for hs-cTnI (P = .02) and normalized left ventricular internal systolic diameter (LVIDsN; P = .02), with GF dogs showing larger decreases in these variables than GI dogs. Median (range) hs-cTnI (ng/mL) for GF dogs was 0.141 (0.012-0.224) at baseline and 0.092 (0.044-0.137) at 1 y, and for GI dogs was 0.051 (0.016-0.195) at baseline and 0.060 (0.022-0.280) at 1 y. Median LVIDsN for GF dogs was 1.01 (0.70-1.30) at baseline and 0.87 (0.79-1.24) at 1 y, and for GI dogs was 1.05 (0.84-1.21) at baseline and 1.10 (0.85-1.28) at 1 y., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Decreased hs-cTnI and LVIDsN in GF dogs after diet change supports reversibility of these subclinical myocardial abnormalities., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)