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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Managing right-to-left patent ductus arteriosus in 3 dogs with blood

By Côté, E & Ettinger, S J·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2001·California Animal Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Long-term clinical management of right-to-left ("reversed") patent ductus arteriosus in 3 dogs.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

Three dogs with a heart condition called patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) were experiencing serious symptoms due to reversed blood flow, which made their blood thicker and caused various health issues. Their treatment involved regular blood removal (phlebotomy) to help manage these symptoms, with each dog undergoing this procedure between 11 to 68 times over the years. Remarkably, all three dogs showed significant improvement in their symptoms and lived for more than 2 to 8 years while receiving this outpatient treatment. The phlebotomy was safe and had very few side effects, leading to better health and longer lives for these dogs.

People also search for: dog patent ductus arteriosus treatment · dog heart condition symptoms · phlebotomy for dogs with thick blood

Abstract

A small number of dogs with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) have right-to-left flow of blood through the ductus, leading to polycythemia and clinical signs associated with hyperviscosity. Three dogs with right-to-left-shunting PDA are described. Treatment consisted solely of phlebotomy, performed on an outpatient basis when indicated by exacerbation of clinical signs, for a total of 11-68 times on each dog. Each treatment entailed the removal of a mean of 19% (maximum 28%) of circulating blood volume, divided into 2 phlebotomies several hours apart, without intravenous fluid replacement. Subjectively, marked clinical improvement was noted. Intermittent clinical signs decreased in frequency and severity in all dogs. Adverse effects were rare (1 for 98 phlebotomies) and reversible. Dogs lived > 2 to > 8 years during treatment. Outpatient phlebotomy without fluid replacement was safe, and was associated with subjective improvement and prolonged survival in these dogs.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11215909/