Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival and treatment outcomes in 143 dogs with fluid around
By Stafford Johnson, M et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2004·Veterinary Cardiorespiratory Centre·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A retrospective study of clinical findings, treatment and outcome in 143 dogs with pericardial effusion.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 143 dogs with fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion) was studied to see how different treatments affected their survival. Dogs without a mass seen on ultrasound (echo-negative) lived longer, with a median survival of about 1068 days, while those with a mass (echo-positive) had a much shorter median survival of just 26 days. Surgery called subtotal pericardiectomy helped many dogs, leading to a median survival of 1218 days for those who had it, despite a 13% risk of complications during the procedure. Overall, dogs that presented with symptoms like collapse or fluid in the abdomen had poorer outcomes.
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Abstract
A retrospective study of 143 dogs with pericardial effusion is presented, including a statistical analysis of survival time. Cases were classified into those in which a mass was seen on echocardiography (echo-positive) and those in which no mass could be identified (echo-negative). Forty-four dogs were echo-positive and 99 were echo-negative. The median survival time (MST) was 1068 days for echo-negative dogs and 26 days for echo-positive dogs. Dogs with a history of collapse were more likely to present with a mass on echocardiography. Those presenting with collapse had an MST of 30 days compared with 605 days for those without collapse. Echo-negative dogs tended to present with ascites and generally had a larger volume of pericardial effusion. The median survival for dogs presenting with ascites was 605 days compared with 45 days for those without ascites. Among echo-negative dogs, 64 per cent had a relapse of their effusion. Subtotal pericardiectomy was performed in 31 echo-negative dogs. The procedure had a perioperative mortality of 13 per cent but provided a favourable long-term prognosis. Dogs undergoing pericardiectomy had a median survival of 1218 days compared with 532 days for those not undergoing surgery.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15553192/