Xavier Sánchez Salguero

Degenerative mitral valve disease accounts for more than 75% of all cardiac diseases in dogs, with left atrial enlargement (LAE) being the primary radiographic sign [1]. In this retrospective study, the radiographic measurements Vertebral Heart Size (VHS), Radiographic Left Atrial Dimension (RLAD), and Vertebral Left Atrial Size (VLAS) were compared for the detection of LAE on lateral thoracic radiographs, correlating them with the echocardiographic left atrium to aortic root ratio (LA/Ao). Two groups were ana-lyzed: Group A with 35 radiographs (without LAE) and Group B with 24 radiographs (with LAE), in which VHS, RLAD, VLAS, and their corresponding LA/Ao ratio values were measured. The optimal cut-off value for each variable to detect LAE was determined using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and the sensitivity, speci-ficity, and area under the curve (AUC) were reported. The correlation of the radiographic measurements with LA/Ao ratio was also assessed. Moderate to high correlations were observed between VHS, RLAD, and VLAS and LA/Ao ratio (r = 0.77, 0.65, and 0.68, respectively). The specificity of all three measures was the same (91%), while their sensitivities were also similar (75%, 71%, and 67%, respec-tively). The optimal cut-off values were determined to be 11.1v for VHS, 2v for RLAD, and 2.2v for VLAS. It was concluded that all three radiographic measurements have comparable speci-ficity and sensitivity for detecting LAE in dogs.

Chemodectomas are low prevalence tumors with complex clinical management. Many present as an incidental finding however, in other dogs, they produce pericardial effusion and/or compression, leading to the appearance of severe clinical signs. There are currently several approaches: surgery, radiotherapy, stent placement and chemotherapy. This is the first description of percutaneous echo-guided radiofrequency ablation of aortic body tumors. This minimally invasive treatment is based on high frequency alternating electrical currents from an electrode that produces ionic agitation and generates frictional heat, causing coagulation necrosis. Five dogs with an echocardiographic and cytological diagnosis of chemodectoma underwent percutaneous echo-guided radiofrequency ablation. At the time of presentation, all the dogs showed clinical signs, such as ascites and/or collapse. There were no complications either during the procedure or in the following 24 hours. Rapid clinical improvement associated with a reduction in size and change in sonographic appearance of the mass were achieved with no complications. Six months follow-up was carried out in all dogs. A second percutaneous echo-guided RFA was performed eight months after the first procedure in one dog. Based on our experience, radiofrequency ablation seems to be a feasible and safe technique, making it a potential alternative therapeutic approach in the clinical management of aortic body tumors leading to severe clinical compromise.