Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Heart damage in dogs with leishmaniasis and kidney disease compared
By Martínez-Hernández, L et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2017·Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison of myocardial damage among dogs at different stages of clinical leishmaniasis and dogs with idiopathic chronic kidney disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with severe leishmaniasis (a disease caused by a parasite) showed more heart damage compared to those with milder leishmaniasis or chronic kidney disease. Researchers measured a protein called cardiac troponin I (cTnI) to assess heart injury, finding that dogs with very severe leishmaniasis had significantly higher levels of this protein. In contrast, healthy dogs had normal cTnI levels. This suggests that dogs suffering from advanced leishmaniasis are at a greater risk for heart problems than those with less severe cases or kidney issues.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis heart problems · elevated troponin in dogs · chronic kidney disease in dogs symptoms
Abstract
Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is a systemic disease caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum. Myocarditis in CanL has been described previously in CanL by histopathological analysis of post-mortem specimens and by evaluation of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels. However, the degree of myocardial damage at different stages of CanL and the role that concurrent azotaemia plays in this myocardial injury are unknown. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate and compare the presence of myocardial injury in dogs at different stages of clinical CanL and in dogs with severe idiopathic chronic kidney disease (CKD) by measuring cTnI. Forty-eight dogs were included in the study, divided into four groups: (1) group A (10 healthy dogs); (2) group B (17 dogs with CanL without renal azotaemia, classified as mild to severe in the LeishVet scheme); (3) group C (11 dogs with CanL and renal azotaemia, classified as very severe in the LeishVet scheme); and (4) group D (10 dogs with idiopathic CKD). Dogs in group C had significantly higher cTnI than dogs in groups B and D, although cTnI was also elevated in these groups. Dogs in group A had normal cTnI values. Dogs in groups D and C had similar renal IRIS classification scorers. Severe lymphoplasmocytic myocarditis and a positive real time PCR of L. infantum DNA were observed in all dogs in group C. Dogs with very severe CanL exhibit more myocardial injury than dogs with milder CanL or dogs with idiopathic CKD.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28283071/