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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

American cocker spaniel with portal vein clot treated with rivaroxaban

By Niijima, Ryo et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2025·Kitasato University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Japan·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Treatment of portal vein thrombosis with rivaroxaban in an American cocker spaniel with chronic hepatitis: a case report.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A 9-year-old male American cocker spaniel was brought in with fluid buildup in his abdomen (ascites) and chronic hepatitis, which may have been caused by a blood clot in the portal vein (portal vein thrombosis). The veterinarian treated him with rivaroxaban, a medication that helps prevent blood clots, along with diuretics to reduce the fluid. After starting this treatment, the dog showed improvement in his symptoms, including less fluid buildup and better overall health. This case highlights a new use for rivaroxaban in dogs with similar conditions.

People also search for: dog ascites treatment · American cocker spaniel chronic hepatitis · portal vein thrombosis in dogs · rivaroxaban for dogs

Abstract

Anticoagulants are commonly used to treat venous thrombosis. Rivaroxaban, a direct factor Xa inhibitor, is widely used in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat thromboembolism. It has been used to manage portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in humans. As the incidence of PVT with chronic hepatitis (CH) is low in dogs, treatment methods have not been fully established. This case report describes the treatment of a 9-year-old male American cocker spaniel with CH and ascites, possibly due to concurrent PVT, using rivaroxaban. During treatment with rivaroxaban and diuretics, the patient showed improvement in portal hypertension, ascites, and edema. Herein, we report the first case of using rivaroxaban for the management of PVT with CH (treated with glucocorticoids) in a dog.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40738671/