Background: For treating dogs with heavy heartworm infection, mechanical removal using various retrieval devices is useful. However, the efficacy and safety of retrieval devices have rarely been studied.Hypothesis: Catheter-based heartworm removal using 2 retrieval devices (basket and tripod grasping forceps) is efficient and safe for treating dogs with heavy worm burden.Animals: Fifty-two client-owned dogs with heavy (Class III and IV) worm burden. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 52 dogs, using a catheter-based heartworm removal approach using 2 types of retrieval devices (ie, the basket and the tripod grasping forceps). The efficacy and complications associated with the 2 devices were assessed.Results: The basket device was used on 22 of the study group dogs, and the tripod grasping forceps was used on 30 of the dogs. The postoperative survival rate was 95.5% for the basket device and 80% for the tripod grasping forceps, but the difference was not statistically significant. The worm number captured per attempt was 3.5 AE 1.7 using the basket device and 1.9 AE 0.85 for the tripod grasping forceps (P < .05). Various complications associated with heartworm removal were noticed with both retrieval devices.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: This study suggests that catheter-based heartworm removal is not only a relatively safe and efficient therapeutic method in dogs with heavy worm burden, but more efficient using the basket device. Our data do not indicate a clear safety advantage between the 2 devices evaluated, although the survival rate was numerically higher in dogs undergoing a basket intervention.
Carval syndrome is a severe heartworm infection where the worms have migrated to the right atrium and vena cava; this condition is associated with a myriad of clinical signs. Several non-surgical and interventional methods are currently used for mechanical worm removal. However, the success rate and complications related to these methods are heavily dependent on methodology and retrieval devices used. In this study, we developed a catheter-guided heartworm removal method using a retrieval basket that can easily access pulmonary arteries and increase the number of worms removed per procedure. With this technique, we successfully treated four dogs with caval syndrome.
BackgroundHeartworm disease in dogs is a life-threatening parasitic disease. Although adulticide treatment with melarsomine has been proven to be the most effective, complications associated with adulticide treatment are major concerns for clinicians.MethodsThis study evaluated the change in levels of D-dimer, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein and cardiac troponin I in 12 dogs with different severities of heartworm infection treated by the American Heartworm Society (AHS) recommended protocol during the treatment period. The serum levels of several markers were measured on the day of diagnosis (T-60), before the initiation of melarsomine therapy (T0), 1 day after the first injection (T1), 1 week after the first injection (T7), 1 month after the first injection (T30), 1 day after the second injection (T31), 1 day after the third injection (T32), 1 week after the third injection (T39), 1 month after the third injection (T62), 2 months after the third injection (T92), 3 months after the third injection (T122), and 6 months after the third injection (T182).ResultsThe serum levels of these markers were significantly different at the test time point after melarsomine treatment and also differed significantly according to the stage of heartworm disease in the dogs.ConclusionThis study found that monitoring of inflammatory and hemostatic markers in dogs with heartworm disease being treated with melarsomine might be beneficial in predicting the clinical outcomes and complications associated with melarsomine treatment.
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