Abstract
BackgroundHeartworm disease in dogs is a life-threatening parasitic disease. Although adulticide treatment with melarsomine has been proven to be the most effective, complications associated with adulticide treatment are major concerns for clinicians.MethodsThis study evaluated the change in levels of D-dimer, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein and cardiac troponin I in 12 dogs with different severities of heartworm infection treated by the American Heartworm Society (AHS) recommended protocol during the treatment period. The serum levels of several markers were measured on the day of diagnosis (T-60), before the initiation of melarsomine therapy (T0), 1 day after the first injection (T1), 1 week after the first injection (T7), 1 month after the first injection (T30), 1 day after the second injection (T31), 1 day after the third injection (T32), 1 week after the third injection (T39), 1 month after the third injection (T62), 2 months after the third injection (T92), 3 months after the third injection (T122), and 6 months after the third injection (T182).ResultsThe serum levels of these markers were significantly different at the test time point after melarsomine treatment and also differed significantly according to the stage of heartworm disease in the dogs.ConclusionThis study found that monitoring of inflammatory and hemostatic markers in dogs with heartworm disease being treated with melarsomine might be beneficial in predicting the clinical outcomes and complications associated with melarsomine treatment.
Highlights
Heartworm disease in dogs is a life-threatening parasitic disease
Heartworm disease (HWD) in dogs is a life-threatening parasitic disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis and is characterized by right-sided congestive heart failure, allergic pneumonia and thromboembolism [1]
A pathological level of Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) was found in 25% in class I and 100% in class II and III groups, no dog in any group had a pathological level of cTnI at the end of the study (T182)
Summary
Heartworm disease in dogs is a life-threatening parasitic disease. adulticide treatment with melarsomine has been proven to be the most effective, complications associated with adulticide treatment are major concerns for clinicians. Several therapeutic modalities have been proposed [2,3,4,5,6,7], the 2014 American Heartworm Society (AHS) guidelines constitute the most popular and proven therapeutic protocol for dogs with HWD This protocol includes three doses of melarsomine dihydrochloride along with a preventive dose of macrocyclic lactone and 4 weeks of doxycycline premedication [7]. Pathological processes in dogs with HWD during adulticide therapy may include myocardial injury and pulmonary thromboembolic and proinflammatory processes Monitoring these processes using relevant biomarkers can be beneficial in increasing the therapeutic success and reducing the risk of complications
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