Tetralogy of Fallot and atrial septal defect in a white Bengal Tiger cub (Panthera tigris tigris)

Abstract

A 3-week-old female white Bengal Tiger cub (Panthera tigris tigris) presented with acute onset tachypnoea, cyanosis and hypothermia. The cub was severely hypoxaemic with a mixed acid–base disturbance. Echocardiography revealed severe pulmonic stenosis, right ventricular hypertrophy, high membranous ventricular septal defect and an overriding aorta. Additionally, an atrial septal defect was found on necropsy, resulting in the final diagnosis of Tetralogy of Fallot with an atrial septal defect (a subclass of Pentalogy of Fallot). This report is the first to encompass arterial blood gas analysis, thoracic radiographs, echocardiography and necropsy findings in a white Bengal Tiger cub diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot with an atrial septal defect.

Clinical and postmortem findings of pentalogy of Fallot in an 18-month-old Holstein heifer

“…The prevalence of congenital heart diseases in bovine fetuses collected at abattoirs is 0.7% [15] and TOF accounts for 7.5% of these cases [12]. POF has been reported in many species, including cattle [4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 21], a ram [27], a Bengal Tiger [26], a Siberian Tiger [31], and a Korean Sapsaree dog [25], as well as in human patients [1, 2]. General symptoms of POF are similar to that of TOF, including exercise intolerance, cyanosis, tachycardia, murmur, and tachypnea [8, 9, 21].…”