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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Does atenolol before heart procedures help dogs with pulmonic stenosis

By Gomart, Samantha et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2022·Highcroft Veterinary Referrals, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Effect of preoperative administration of atenolol to dogs with pulmonic stenosis undergoing interventional procedures.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A group of 30 dogs with pulmonic stenosis (a heart condition) were given atenolol, a beta-blocker, before undergoing procedures to see if it would help reduce heart rhythm issues during surgery. The results showed that while the dogs that received atenolol had lower heart rates during the procedure, there was no significant difference in the occurrence of heart rhythm problems or the overall time taken for the procedures compared to those that did not receive the medication. Ultimately, the study found that preoperative atenolol did not provide any clear benefits for these dogs.

People also search for: dog pulmonic stenosis treatment · atenolol for dogs heart problems · dog heart surgery recovery

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Beta-blockade is sometimes used in dogs with pulmonic stenosis with the intent of reducing frequency of ventricular arrhythmias during right heart catheterization. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if pretreatment with atenolol reduces frequency of ventricular arrhythmias, anesthetist interventions, or shortens procedure time. ANIMALS: Thirty dogs with pulmonic stenosis scheduled for interventional procedures. METHODS: Single center, prospective, randomized, open-label study. Dogs were randomized to treatment with atenolol or no treatment preoperatively for a minimum of 10 days. Variables recorded included heart rate, arrhythmias and complexity, total procedure time and administration of antiarrhythmic treatment, vasopressors, positive chronotropes, or fluid boluses. RESULTS: Fifteen dogs were enrolled in each group. Dogs receiving atenolol had lower mean heart rates during the procedure (atenolol 100 ± 11 bpm vs untreated 115 ± 19 bpm, P = .01). There were no significant differences between the atenolol and untreated groups in the frequency of ventricular ectopic complexes (535 [6-5296] vs 553 [79-2863], P = .9), ventricular couplets (46 [0-481] vs 29 [3-121], P = .59), ventricular triplets (20 [0-265] vs 16 [1-82], P = .67), ventricular tachycardia (8 [0-224] vs 8 [1-118], P = .99), proportion exhibiting R-on-T phenomenon (11/15 vs 14/15, P = .33), proportion receiving intraoperative lidocaine (1/15 vs 3/15, P = .6), vasopressors/positive chronotropes (11/15 vs 5/15, P = .06), or fluid boluses (12/15 vs 7/15, P = .13). The procedure time was similar (atenolol 41 [23-68] min vs untreated 35 [18-98] min, P = .91). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: No benefit of preoperative atenolol treatment was identified in this small group of dogs.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35302255/