UDC 619: 616.12: 636.7
DOI: 10.36871/vet.zoo.bio.202308004
Authors
Kira V. Kokulenko,
Veterinary clinic «Biocontrol», Moscow, Russia
Anna V. Goncharova,
Vladislav A. Kostalev,
Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology – MVA by K. I. Skryabin”, Moscow, Russia
Abstract
Pericardial effusion is an accumulation of fluid in the pericardial cavity, which can lead to cardiac
tamponade – a life–threatening condition of the animal. In cardiac tamponade, the intrapericardial
pressure exceeds the diastolic filling pressure of the right ventricle. This, in turn, leads to compression
of the right chambers of the heart during diastole, which prevents normal systemic venous
return. The consequence is a decrease in the stroke volume of the heart and a violation of cardiac
output. According to available literature data, the most common causes of pericardial effusion in dogs
are cardiac neoplasia, more rare are chronic heart failure, less often pericarditis, systemic inflammatory
processes in the body, rupture of the left atrium, idiopathic pericardial effusion is also found.
The objectives of this work are to determine the frequency of occurrence of pericardial effusions and
to identify risk factors for their occurrence and development. All animals were examined according to
a procedure that includes anamnesis collection, clinical examination, echocardiography, electrocardiography,
chest X-ray, chest and abdominal ultrasonography for the presence of effusion (if necessary),
cytology of effusion, histology of pathological material obtained intraoperatively (if necessary).
The prevalence of pericardial effusions among the examined dogs in the period from 2019 to 2022
was 2,05 % (55 animals out of 2688). The risk factors for pericardial effusions were associated with
age and breed, the most common causes the development of pericardial effusions were heart/pericardial
neoplasms (52,5 %), idiopathic pericardial effusion (22,5 %) and congestive heart failure (12,5 %).
Keywords
pericardial effusion, cardiac tamponade, pericardial cavity, neoplasia of the heart, congestive heart failure, idiopathic pericardial effusion, echocardiography
