Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Echo-Doppler findings of a carotid-jugular fistula in a foal.
- Journal:
- Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association
- Year:
- 2003
- Authors:
- Guglielmini, Carlo & Bernardini, Daniele
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences · Italy
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A seven-month-old male Standardbred foal was brought to the vet because his left neck area had been swollen for four months. During the examination, the vet noticed that the veins in his left jaw and neck were very enlarged. Tests showed that the left jugular vein had more oxygen than normal, and special imaging revealed that blood was flowing abnormally between the left carotid artery and the left jugular vein through a small connection called a carotid-jugular fistula. This abnormal connection caused increased blood flow in the left carotid artery compared to the right. The findings suggest that the foal has a significant vascular issue that may need further management.
Abstract
A seven-month-old male Standardbred was referred with a 4-month history of left jugular groove distension. On physical examination severely dilated left maxillary, linguofacial and jugular veins were appreciable. Blood gas analysis results indicated higher degree of oxygenation in the left jugular vein. Bi-directional flow signals, with normal systolic and early diastolic flow, and late diastolic retrograde flow, were noted on pulsed-wave Doppler interrogation and color flow mapping of the left jugular blood flow. A systolic-diastolic signal with spectral broadening was detected when positioning the sample gate near the internal jugular wall, in the distal left cervical region. Color Doppler imaging of the same region showed blood flow passage between the left common carotid artery and the left jugular vein through a small carotid-jugular fistula. Markedly increased blood flow velocities and volumetric flow, and decreased resistive index were recorded in the left compared to the right common carotid artery.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12816374/