Pulmonary arterial response to Angiostrongylus vasorum in naturally infected dogs: echocardiographic findings in two cases

Corda, Andrea; Carta, Silvia; Varcasia, Antonio; Tamponi, Claudia; Evangelisti, Maria Antonietta; Scala, Antonio; Parpaglia, Maria Luisa Pinna

doi:10.1186/s13071-019-3544-2

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Currently no publications exist regarding A. chabaudi being detectable in echocardiography. In dogs, Angiostrongylus vasorum cannot be seen in echocardiography, so it also seems unlikely that A. chabaudi can be seen in echocardiography [30].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Autochthonous Infection of a Cat with Dirofilaria immitis in Austria

et al. 2021

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This case report is about a seven-year-old male neutered European Shorthair cat infected by Dirofilaria immitis as the first reported autochthonous Dirofilaria immitis infection in Austria. There was no history of periods abroad. Echocardiography showed suspected D. immitis in the right cardiac chamber with increased pulmonary pressure and ascites. Surgical removal of the heartworms was performed. Twenty adult heartworms were removed by transvenous jugular approach under general anesthesia and stored in 4% formalin. Five out of 20 specimens were examined via light and stereomicroscopy and feline heartworm infection was confirmed. Amplification of a 203 bp or 724 bp fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene was unsuccessful. After surgery the cat developed acute renal failure but recovered quickly. One year later, the cat underwent a control examination including echocardiography and blood work. There were no more D. immitis detectable at echocardiography. Lung pressure was mildly increased. Complete blood count and creatinine were unremarkable. The Knott’s test and Dirofilaria-Antigen-test produced negative results. The cat did not show any clinical signs during the follow-up period. The aim of this case report is to highlight the growing risk of acquiring infection with D. immitis not only for Austrian dogs, but also for cats. This case report represents the first report of autochthonous D. immitis infection in Austria. Moreover, even if the prognosis in cats with caval syndrome due to feline heartworm disease is guarded to poor, surgical removal of the filariae can be a successful treatment option.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Autochthonous Infection of a Cat with Dirofilaria immitis in Austria

et al. 2021

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“…As it is commonly accepted, PH is a very rare pathological condition in cats, generally associated with heartworm infection, thromboembolic disorders, inflammatory polyps, and patent ductus arteriosus [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. PH is more common in dogs, which may be associated with the presence of the metastrongyloid nematode A. vasorum [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Concretely, 14.6% of dogs infected with this parasite develop moderate-to-severe PH [ 41 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical, Radiological, and Echocardiographic Findings in Cats Infected by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Napoli

Pugliese

Basile³

et al. 2023

Pathogens

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Cats infected by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus may show a plethora of clinical signs, and pulmonary hypertension (PH) seems to be one of the possible alterations induced by the infection; however, data on this association are scant and contradictory. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the association between aelurostrongylosis and PH and to evaluate the correlation between the number of A. abstrusus larvae expelled in the faeces and the clinical, echocardiographic, and radiological alterations. Fifteen cats (i.e., eight males and seven females) older than 3 months and naturally infected by A. abstrusus with different parasitic loads, expressed as larvae per grams of faeces (l.p.g.), were enrolled in the study. Each animal underwent clinical, echocardiographic, and radiographic examinations. Most cats (i.e., 10/15) showed pathological patterns on thoracic radiograms; particularly, the alveolar pattern (four cats), interstitial-nodular pattern (five cats), and bronchial pattern (one cat). No significant echocardiographic findings of PH were detected. No correlation between the number of l.p.g. and the severity of clinical signs was observed, but a significant correlation with activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), radiographic alterations (interstitial nodular pattern), and ultrasonographic findings (RIVIDs) were noticed. These findings suggest that other factors such as animal age and health status, as well as comorbidity, may influence the presentation of the disease or the clinical manifestation and severity of the disease.

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“…Infection with Angiostrongylus vasorum is a welldocumented cause of (precapillary) pulmonary hypertension in dogs [2,3,[26][27][28][29]. The underlying mechanism of pulmonary hypertension is increased vascular resistance caused by the combination of vascular luminal obstruction and perivascular inflammation [3].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spontaneous tricuspid valve chordal rupture in a dog with severe, irreversible pulmonary hypertension caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum infection

Szatmári

2020

BMC Vet Res

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Background: The adult worms of Angiostrongylus vasorum reside in the pulmonary artery of dogs and can lead to cardiac, respiratory, and central neurologic signs. Due to luminal obstruction and perivascular inflammation of the pulmonary artery branches, pulmonary hypertension can arise. Pulmonary hypertension, in turn, can lead to severe damage of the right-sided cardiac structures, leading to right ventricular remodeling and tricuspid valve regurgitation. Case presentation: An 8-year-old neutered female English Cocker Spaniel was presented to the author's institution because of abdominal distention and exercise intolerance. Ascites caused by congestive right-sided heart failure was found to be responsible for these problems. The underlying etiology of the right-sided heart failure was a severe pulmonary hypertension caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum infection. Echocardiography revealed, in addition to a severe concentric and eccentric right ventricular hypertrophy, right atrial and pulmonary trunk dilation, severe tricuspid valve regurgitation, and a systolic flail of the anterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve, resulting from ruptured chordae tendineae. As a coincidental finding, a congenital mitral stenosis was found. Oral therapy was initiated with daily administration of fenbendazole for 2 weeks along with daily administration of oral sildenafil until the recheck examination. At the 6-week recheck the dog showed full clinical and partial echocardiographic recovery, and both the blood antigen test for Angiostrongylus vasorum and the fecal Baermann larva isolation test were negative. When the sildenafil therapy was ceased after tapering the daily dosage, the owner reported recurrence of abdominal distension. Restarting the sildenafil therapy resulted in resolution of this problem. The dog was reported to be clinically healthy with daily sildenafil administration 7 months after the initial presentation. Conclusions: The present case report describes a dog where angiostrongylosis led to congestive right-sided heart failure resulting from severe pulmonary hypertension. The secondary right ventricular eccentric hypertrophy together with suspected papillary muscular ischemia were the suspected cause of the ruptured major tricuspid chordae tendineae, which led to a severe tricuspid valve regurgitation. Despite eradication of the worms, the severe pulmonary hypertension persisted. Treatment with daily oral sildenafil, a pulmonary arterial vasodilator, was enough to keep the dog free of clinically apparent ascites.

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Pulmonary arterial response to Angiostrongylus vasorum in naturally infected dogs: echocardiographic findings in two cases

Cited by 11 publications

References 52 publications

First Autochthonous Infection of a Cat with Dirofilaria immitis in Austria

First Autochthonous Infection of a Cat with Dirofilaria immitis in Austria

Clinical, Radiological, and Echocardiographic Findings in Cats Infected by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Spontaneous tricuspid valve chordal rupture in a dog with severe, irreversible pulmonary hypertension caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum infection

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