Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Heart damage in dogs with both visceral leishmaniasis and ehrlichiosis
By Balıkçı, Canberk et al.·Published in Veterinaria italiana·2023·Department of Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of cardiovascular injury in dogs coinfected with visceral leishmaniasis and monocytic ehrlichiosis by echocardiographic examination and selected biomarker measurements.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 14 dogs was studied to understand heart problems caused by two serious infections: visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and monocytic ehrlichiosis (ME). Seven of the dogs were sick with both infections, while the other seven were healthy. The sick dogs showed signs of heart injury, including changes in heart size and function, as well as higher levels of certain heart-related biomarkers in their blood. This suggests that dogs infected with both VL and ME may experience similar heart issues as those with just one of the infections.
People also search for: dog heart problems from leishmaniasis · symptoms of ehrlichiosis in dogs · treatment for dog heart disease
Abstract
Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) and Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (ME), which are an important zoonotic diseases of dogs, causing multiple organ dysfunction and has a poor prognosis when not interfered. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the cardiovascular injury that develops in dogs that co‑infected with VL and ME with cardiovascular biomarkers and echocardiographic parameters. The animal material of this study was consisted of 14 owned dogs in total; 7 diseased dogs which were determined to be co‑infected with VL and ME according to the results of clinical examination and rapid test kits, and 7 healthy dogs, which were determined to be healthy as a result of the same examinations. As a result of echocardiographic examinations, decreased left ventricular cytolic and diastolic diameters (LVIDs, LVIDd), fractional shortening (FS) and increased ratio of left atrium to left aortic root diameter (LA/Ao) values were determined in the Co‑infected Group compared with the Healthy Group. Also, as a result of biomarker analysis, higher cTnI) D‑dimer and NT‑proBNP levels were detected in the Co‑infected Group. In conclusion, considering studies of dogs infected with VL and/or ME alone, it was concluded that similar cardiovascular injury develops in dogs co‑infected with VL and ME.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38376835/