Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using lung ultrasound to monitor heart-related lung fluid in dogs
By Murphy, Shane D et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2021·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Utility of point-of-care lung ultrasound for monitoring cardiogenic pulmonary edema in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 25 dogs with left-sided congestive heart failure (L-CHF) were treated in the hospital for fluid buildup in their lungs. The veterinarians used lung ultrasound to track how well the dogs were responding to treatment, and they found that the ultrasound showed a significant decrease in lung fluid after about 20 hours. This method was effective in monitoring the dogs' recovery, as the number of ultrasound sites indicating fluid decreased dramatically. By the time of their first follow-up, the improvements were still evident, suggesting that lung ultrasound is a helpful tool for vets in managing dogs with heart-related breathing issues.
People also search for: dog congestive heart failure treatment · lung ultrasound for dogs · dog breathing problems treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) is an effective tool to diagnose left-sided congestive heart failure (L-CHF) in dogs via detection of ultrasound artifacts (B-lines) caused by increased lung water. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To determine whether LUS can be used to monitor resolution of cardiogenic pulmonary edema in dogs, and to compare LUS to other indicators of L-CHF control. ANIMALS: Twenty-five client-owned dogs hospitalized for treatment of first-onset L-CHF. METHODS: Protocolized LUS, thoracic radiographs (TXR), and plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide were performed at hospital admission, hospital discharge, and recheck examinations. Lung ultrasound findings were compared between timepoints and to other clinical measures of L-CHF. RESULTS: From time of hospital admission to discharge (mean 19.6 hours), median number of LUS sites strongly positive for B-lines (>3 B-lines per site) decreased from 5 (range, 1-8) to 1 (range, 0-5; P < .001), and median total B-line score decreased from 37 (range, 6-74) to 5 (range, 0-32; P = .002). Lung ultrasound indices remained improved at first recheck (P < .001). Number of strong positive sites correlated positively with respiratory rate (r = 0.52, P = .008) and TXR edema score (r = 0.51, P = .009) at hospital admission. Patterns of edema resolution differed between LUS and TXR, with cranial quadrants showing more significant reduction in B-lines compared to TXR edema score (80% vs 29% reduction, respectively; P = .003). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Lung ultrasound could be a useful tool for monitoring resolution of pulmonary edema in dogs with L-CHF.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33270302/