Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with spontaneous lung collapse caused by heartworm infection
By Oliveira, Cintia et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2010·Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spontaneous pneumothorax in a dog secondary to Dirofilaria immitis infection.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old female spayed Labrador Retriever was brought in for breathing problems caused by a spontaneous pneumothorax, which is when air leaks into the space around the lungs. Tests revealed that the issue was due to a severe heartworm infection (Dirofilaria immitis) that had caused damage to her lungs and blood vessels. The veterinarians performed surgery to remove the adult heartworms and treated her with antibiotics, steroids, and adulticide medication to kill the worms. Thankfully, after treatment, she made a full recovery.
People also search for: dog breathing problems · heartworm treatment for dogs · Labrador Retriever pneumothorax recovery
Abstract
A 5-year-old female spayed Labrador Retriever dog was referred to the Louisiana State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for treatment of pneumothorax. Thoracic radiographs and computed tomography showed spontaneous pneumothorax, thoracic lymphadenopathy, pulmonary hypertension, and multifocal pulmonary bulla lesions. At surgery, numerous adult nematodes protruded from the parenchyma of the left caudal and accessory lung lobes and pulmonary arteries. On histopathology, multiple adult filarid nematodes were observed within the pulmonary blood vessels. Broad foci of necrosis of the pulmonary parenchyma were present. The tunica intima of the pulmonary arteries was markedly thickened by intimal fibrosis and medial hypertrophy. The final diagnosis was severe Dirofilaria immitis infection that resulted in pulmonary vascular lesions and focally extensive infarcts of the pulmonary parenchyma with bulla formation and rupture causing spontaneous pneumothorax. The dog received antibiotic and steroid therapy, as well as adulticide treatment, and recovered.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21088191/