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in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

Objective—To determine the efficacy of long-term enalapril administration in delaying the onset of congestive heart failure (CHF).

Design—Placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter, randomized trial.

Animals—124 dogs with compensated mitral valve regurgitation (MR).

Procedures—Dogs randomly assigned to receive enalapril or placebo were monitored for the primary endpoint of onset of CHF for ≤ 58 months. Secondary endpoints included time from study entry to the combined endpoint of CHF-all-cause death; number of dogs free of CHF at 500, 1,000, and 1,500 days; and mean number of CHF-free days.

Results—Kaplan-Meier estimates of the effect of enalapril on the primary endpoint did not reveal a significant treatment benefit. Chronic enalapril administration did have a significant benefit on the combined endpoint of CHF-all-cause death (benefit was 317 days [10.6 months]). Dogs receiving enalapril remained free of CHF for a significantly longer time than those receiving placebo and were significantly more likely to be free of CHF at day 500 and at study end.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Chronic enalapril treatment of dogs with naturally occurring, moderate to severe MR significantly delayed onset of CHF, compared with placebo, on the basis of number of CHF-free days, number of dogs free of CHF at days 500 and study end, and increased time to a combined secondary endpoint of CHF-all-cause death. Improvement in the primary endpoint, CHF-free survival, was not significant. Results suggest that enalapril modestly delays the onset of CHF in dogs with moderate to severe MR.

Full access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To describe the clinical presentation and outcome in dogs diagnosed with Trypanosoma cruzi infection in nonendemic areas and to survey veterinary cardiologists in North America for Chagas disease awareness.

ANIMALS

12 client-owned dogs; 83 respondents from a veterinary cardiology listserv.

PROCEDURES

A retrospective, multicenter medical records review to identify dogs diagnosed with American trypanosomiasis between December 2010 and December 2020. An anonymous online survey was conducted August 9 to 22, 2022.

RESULTS

Diagnosis was made using indirect fluorescent antibody titer (n = 9), quantitative PCR assay (1), or postmortem histopathology (2). Time spent in Texas was < 1 year (n = 7) or 2 to 8 years (5). Time in nonendemic areas prior to diagnosis was < 1 year (n = 10) and > 3 years (2). Eleven had cardiac abnormalities. Of the 12 dogs, 5 had died unexpectedly (range, 1 to 108 days after diagnosis), 4 were still alive at last follow-up (range, 60 to 369 days after diagnosis), 2 were euthanized because of heart disease (1 and 98 days after diagnosis), and 1 was lost to follow-up. Survey results were obtained from 83 cardiologists in North America, of which the self-reported knowledge about Chagas disease was limited in 49% (41/83) and 69% (57/83) expressed interest in learning resources.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Results highlight the potential for encountering dogs with T cruzi infection in nonendemic areas and need for raising awareness about Chagas disease in North America.

Open access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association