Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with heart infection and abnormal valve causing blood flow problem
By Carrillo, A J et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2024·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Aorto-left atrial fistula secondary to aortic infective endocarditis in a dog with a bicuspid aortic valve.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 11-year-old male neutered American bulldog was brought in because he was vomiting, unsteady on his feet, and had low platelet counts. During the exam, the vet found a new heart murmur and further tests showed serious heart issues, including a bicuspid aortic valve and an abnormal connection between the aorta and the left atrium. Unfortunately, the dog's condition was critical, and he was euthanized due to a poor prognosis. A post-mortem examination confirmed the heart problems and identified rare bacteria that caused an infection.
People also search for: dog vomiting and unsteady · American bulldog heart murmur · dog aortic valve disease treatment
Abstract
An 11-year-old male neutered American bulldog was presented for evaluation of thrombocytopenia, acute onset of ataxia, and vomiting. A new murmur was auscultated on physical examination. Transthoracic echocardiographic examination revealed a bicuspid aortic valve, vegetative lesions on the aortic valve, and continuous shunting from the aortic root to the left atrium through an aorta to left atrial fistula. The dog was euthanized due to its guarded prognosis and critical condition. Pathological examination confirmed presence of a bicuspid aortic valve, aorto-left atrial fistula, and aortic infective endocarditis. Antemortem blood culture revealed two unusual organisms: Achromobacter xylosoxidans and Fusobacterium mortiferum.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38565003/