Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pulmonary hypertension and survival in West Highland white terriers
By Roels, Elodie et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2021·Department of Internal Medicine, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: The prevalence of pulmonary hypertension assessed using the pulmonary vein-to-right pulmonary artery ratio and its association with survival in West Highland white terriers with canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 25 West Highland White Terriers was diagnosed with canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (CIPF) and tested for pulmonary hypertension (PH), a condition that can occur alongside CIPF. The study found that about 60% of these dogs had moderate to severe PH, compared to only 5% in healthy dogs. Despite the high prevalence of PH, having it at the time of diagnosis did not affect how long the dogs lived after starting treatment with sildenafil, a medication used to help manage PH. This suggests that while PH is common in dogs with CIPF, it may not impact their overall survival.
People also search for: West Highland White Terrier pulmonary hypertension treatment · canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis symptoms · sildenafil for dogs with lung disease
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a known co-morbidity in West Highland white terriers (WHWTs) affected with canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (CIPF). The pulmonary vein-to-right pulmonary artery ratio (PV/PA) has recently been described for the detection of pre-capillary PH in dogs. The objective of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of PH at diagnostic, in WHWTs affected with CIPF, by using PV/PA, in comparison with a group of healthy breed-matched controls (CTRLs). Additional study objective was to explore whether the presence of PH at initial diagnosis of CIPF impacted survival time in dogs treated with sildenafil. RESULTS: Twenty-five client-owned WHWTs presented with CIPF and 19 CTRLs were included in the study. PV/PA in either two-dimensional mode (2D) or time-motion mode or both were measured from cineloops in each dog. Dogs were classified according to PV/PA value into non/mild PH (PV/PA measured in 2D ≥ 0.7) or moderate/severe PH (PV/PA < 0.7). Survival data of WHWTs affected with CIPF were extracted from medical record to assess association between presence of PH at diagnosis and outcome. 60 % overall prevalence for moderate/severe PH was estimated in this cohort of WHWTs presented with CIPF vs. 5 % in CTRLS (P = 0.0002). The presence of moderate/severe PH at initial presentation was not associated with survival. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present study confirm a high prevalence of PH at diagnosis in WHWTs affected with CIPF and highlight the utility of PV/PA as a non-invasive surrogate for assessment of PH in this population.
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 on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33892687/