Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
X-ray methods to check heart enlargement in dogs with mitral valve
By Vezzosi, T et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2021·Department of Veterinary Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Two radiographic methods for assessing left atrial enlargement and cardiac remodeling in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 111 dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) were evaluated to see how well two different X-ray methods could detect enlargement of the left atrium, which is a common issue in heart disease. The study found that both methods, called vertebral left atrial size (VLAS) and radiographic left atrial dimension (RLAD), were effective, but RLAD was particularly good at identifying dogs that needed further evaluation. In fact, RLAD showed nearly perfect accuracy in detecting left atrial enlargement in dogs that were not showing any symptoms. These findings suggest that veterinarians can use these X-ray measurements to better assess heart health in dogs with MMVD.
People also search for: dog heart disease symptoms · myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs · left atrial enlargement treatment in dogs
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Two radiographic measures of the left atrial (LA) size, the vertebral left atrial size (VLAS) and the radiographic left atrial dimension (RLAD), have been described in dogs. The aim of this study was to determine their feasibility and diagnostic value in the prediction of LA enlargement and clinical stage in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). ANIMALS: 111 client-owned dogs affected by MMVD. METHODS: Retrospective study. In each dog, VLAS, RLAD, vertebral heart score (VHS), and left atrium-to-aorta-ratio (LA/Ao) were measured. The correlation between VLAS, RLAD, and LA/Ao was evaluated. The diagnostic accuracy of VLAS and RLAD was assessed for the detection of LA enlargement and clinical staging using the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: A positive correlation was observed between VLAS, RLAS, and LA/Ao (r = 0.816 and r = 0.855, respectively; p<0.0001). Both VLAS (area under the curve [AUC], 0.93; p<0.0001) and RLAD (AUC, 0.98; p<0.0001) showed high diagnostic accuracy in the detection of LA enlargement. In the stage B, the RLAD (AUC, 0.99; cutoff, ≥1.8; sensitivity, 100%; specificity 93%) performed better than VLAS (AUC, 0.90; cutoff, ≥2.4; sensitivity, 66%; specificity 100%) and VHS (AUC, 0.89; cutoff, ≥10.7; sensitivity, 88%; specificity 83%) in the detection of dogs fulfilling the echocardiographic criteria for stage B2. CONCLUSIONS: VLAS and RLAD represent useful radiological tools for the detection of LA enlargement in dogs with MMVD. In asymptomatic dogs, the RLAD performs better than VLAS and VHS in the prediction of those fulfilling the echocardiographic criteria for stage B2.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33581663/