Endocardial Hemorrhages Research Articles

Pathological Findings in the Carcass of a Dog following Ovariohysterectomy, and Intestinal Resection and Anastomosis

This report presented the gross and histopathological findings in the carcass of a Nigerian Indigenous Dog (NID) following ovariohysterectomy, intestinal resection and anastomosis. The carcass of a 9-month-old NID was presented to the Necropsy Unit of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria. History was obtained, general examination of the carcass and necropsy were conducted. History revealed sudden death 2 days post-abdominal surgical procedures (ovariohysterectomy, and small intestinal resection and anastomosis). The clinical signs observed before death were weakness and dyspnea, while mild tick infestations and bilateral congested ocular mucus membranes were on general examination of the carcass. The gross pathological findings were hemorrhagic trachea, congested and hemorrhagic lungs, enlarged heart with epicardial and endocardial hemorrhages, enlarged and congested liver, enlarged spleen, hemorrhage in the gastric mucosa, intestinal hemorrhages, and an area of hemorrhagic infarct at the intestinal anastomosed site. On histopathological examination, there was slightly thickened interalveolar walls with inflammatory cellular infiltrations, cardiac hemorrhage, and hepatic congestion. These gross and histopathological findings suggest possible systemic complications, thus, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive pre-operative assessment, and post-operative care and monitoring in veterinary surgeries.

A three years study on histopathological changes in various tissues in cases of snake bite in a mortuary

Snakebite is a health problem mostly to the poorer rural population. Quite a good number of fatal cases are reported worldwide, even in India with annually estimated 2,00,000 on an average. Lack of rural health infrastructure, superstitious belief on black magic and dearth of proper knowledge among common people are regarded to be responsible for rise in incidences. At times diagnosis for snakebite cases becomes difficult. This is three years autopsy-based study, where it has been shown that renal pathological findings are prominent. Endocardial hemorrhage, pulmonary and cerebral edema are also associated with neurotoxic cobra and krait bites.

Pathogenicity comparison of duck Tembusu virus in different aged Cherry Valley breeding ducks

BackgroundAlthough several studies have revealed that the sensitivity of ducklings to duck Tembusu virus (DTMUV) was related to age, however, DTMUV was originally isolated from egg-laying ducks, and the ovary was the target organ of this virus. Cherry Valley breeding ducks aged 15- and 55-week-old (they are reserve breeding ducks and the normal egg-laying breeding ducks, respectively) were infected with DTMUV, using intramuscular injection, to study the effect of age-related difference on the pathogenicity of DTMUV in breeding ducks.ResultsExaminations of clinical symptoms, gross and microscopic lesions, viral loads, cytokines and serum neutralizing antibodies were performed. Results showed that obvious clinical symptoms, such as depression, ruffled feathers, ataxia and egg-laying drop were observed in the 55-week-old laying ducks, with five ducks dying at 5–7 days post infection (dpi). The 15-week-old ducks showed slight symptoms during infection. Gross lesions were severe and characterized by the congestion, hemorrhage and swelling of some organs in the 55-week-old ducks, including the hemorrhage of endocardium, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, oviduct hemorrhage, hyperemia and deformation of the ovary. Mild endocardial hemorrhage and hepatosplenomegaly were observed in the 15-week-old ducks. Similarly, there was a significant difference in microscopic lesions between the two groups. The older ducks displayed severe microscopic lesions, specifically in the hemorrhage, interstitial inflammatory cell infiltration of the endocardium, typical viral encephalitis and hemorrhage in the ovary. But on the whole, the 15-week-old ducks showed milder lesions. Viral loads in tissues of the older group were significantly higher than those of the younger group. The levels of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2 and neutralizing antibody in the 15-week-old ducks were higher than in the 55-week-old ducks at the early stage of the DTMUV infection, suggesting the immune response in the younger ducks to DTMUV was stronger than in the older ducks.ConclusionsThese results demonstrated that age-related differences in susceptibility to DTMUV in breeding ducks was significant, with 55-week-old egg-laying ducks being more susceptible to DTMUV than 15-week-old reserve breeding ducks.

Yew (Taxus) intoxication in free-ranging cervids.

Wild ruminants, including deer species (cervids) have incorrectly been regarded as refractory to yew (Taxus) intoxication. This assumption has been based upon anecdotal observations of individual deer browsing on yew over time without apparent adverse effect. A single case of yew intoxication was reported in a free-ranging Norwegian moose (Alces alces) in 2008. The current report describes five additional cases of yew toxicosis in moose, seven in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and two in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus), all in Norway. The animals were found dead during the winter, close to or within gardens containing yew plants showing signs of browsing. Gross findings included lung congestion and edema, thoracic and pericardial effusion, bilateral heart dilatation, epi- and endocardial hemorrhage, and enlarged (congested) spleen. Yew plant remnants were detected in the rumen of all animals with the exception of a single moose. Histology revealed multifocal acute myocardial degeneration and necrosis with hemorrhage in roe deer, but not in the two other species. A qualitative high performance liquid chromatography–ion trap mass spectrometry analysis was used to tentatively identify five major Taxus alkaloids (taxines) in crude yew extracts and in heart and liver samples from the moose cases. All five major taxines were detected with good signal/noise ratio in tissue samples from the four moose with visible ruminal yew content, whereas lower levels of taxines were detected in the moose without visible ruminal yew content. Possible differences in interspecies tolerance to taxines and role of individual protective adaptation are discussed.

Effect of age on the pathogenesis of duck tembusu virus in Cherry Valley ducks.

The effect of host age on the outcome of duck tembusu virus (DTMUV) infection was studied in ducks. Three groups of Cherry Valley ducks at 1, 3, and 7 weeks of age were intramuscularly infected with DTMUV to systematically observe the clinical symptoms, pathological changes, tissue viral loads, and immune responses. Severe clinical symptoms and neurological dysfunction were observed in 1-week-old ducks as early as 2 days post infection (dpi) and some died at 5–7 dpi. Three weeks-old ducks showed similar but milder symptoms and no deaths. However, 7-weeks-old ducks showed only transient loss of appetite. Gross lesions gradually reduced in severity as ducks matured. One-week-old ducks showed endocardial hemorrhage, splenomegaly, swelling in the lymph follicles of the ileum, liver, and kidney swelling with degeneration, and meningeal hyperemia. Three-weeks-old ducks showed only mild pathological lesions. No visible lesions were observed in 7-weeks-old ducks. However, pathological histology analysis demonstrated all infected ducks displayed viral encephalitis. DTMUV could be detected in the brains of 1-week-old ducks as early as 1 dpi and virus titers of most organs in 1-week-old ducks were significantly higher than that of 3- and 7-weeks-old ducks at 3–5 dpi. The patterns of IFN-γ, IL-2, and serum neutralizing antibodies were similar, and there were significant difference between the youngest ducks and the older ducks at early infection stage (P < 0.05). More important is that although the antibody titers of all infected ducks were similar from 9 to 17 dpi, reduced clearance of virus was observed in the youngest groups comparing with the other two groups, indicating that immune system maturity was more important than the presence of neutralizing antibody. In summary, this study demonstrates that viral pathogenesis is strongest in 1-week-old ducks and the age-related immune response plays an important role in the pathogenesis of DTMUV in ducks.

A case of fatal arsenic poisoning

We describe a case of poisoning by arsenic trioxide of a young man found dead at home. There were no obvious external signs of arsenic poisoning; but we observed marked endocardial hemorrhages, hepatomegaly, diffuse gastric mucosal hemorrhages, and slight brain edema at autopsy. The Reinsch test for the stomach contents and liver homogenate was positive for arsenic. Wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry combined with the Reinsch test showed that fatal levels of arsenic were present in blood and tissues. The cause of death was diagnosed as circulatory collapse caused by arsenic trioxide.

Diagnosis of Taxus (Yew) Poisoning in a Horse

A 2-year-old bay Thoroughbred colt was found dead overnight in its stall without a known history of any illness, existing disease, or toxicant exposure. No information on the clinical signs before this animal's death was reported. A full necropsy was performed the next morning and revealed a mild to moderate degree of endocardial hemorrhages in both ventricles. Microscopic examination of the heart showed an acute mild multifocal necrosis of papillary muscles and ventricles. The stomach content contained approximately 2% Taxus alkaloids as determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. In the past, diagnosis of Taxus poisoning has been mainly based on history of exposure and the presence of plant parts in the gastrointestinal tract. Pathological lesions associated with Taxus poisoning have not been published for horses. Therefore, this is the first report of cardiac lesions in a horse after lethal exposure to Taxus. On the basis of these findings, it is suggested that Taxus exposure needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis of horses that die suddenly or have cardiac lesions suggestive of Taxus exposure, even if intact plant parts are not identified in the stomach by the naked eye.

Babesiose cerebral em bovinos: 20 casos

Num estudo retrospectivo de 1.071 necropsias de bovinos, foram encontrados 20 casos de babesiose cerebral confirmados pelo exame de esfregaços do córtex telencefálico. A maioria desses casos ocorreu no verão, em bovinos adultos de raças européias ou suas cruzas. Além dos sinais clínicos neurológicos, observou-se hemoglobinúria, anorexia, febre, taquicardia, taquipnéia e queda na produção de leite. O hemograma realizado em cinco bovinos afetados revelou acentuada anemia regenerativa; em média, 20% dos eritrócitos estavam parasitados por Babesia bovis. Na necropsia de todos os casos, a substância cinzenta dos córtices telencefálico e cerebelar e dos núcleos da base era consistente e caracteristicamente róseo-cereja. Essa coloração devia-se ao seqüestro de eritrócitos nos capilares encefálicos. Nesses eritrócitos, podiam-se observar, tanto em esfregaços do córtex como em preparações histológicas do encéfalo, microorganismos com morfologia compatível com B. bovis. Outros achados de necropsia incluíam hemoglobinúria, rins vermelho-escuros, hepatoesplenomegalia, fígado vermelho-alaranjado, icterícia, hemorragias epicárdicas e endocárdicas e edema e congestão dos linfonodos mesentéricos.

Acute cardiomyopathy induced by the vasodilating antihypertensive agent minoxidil

Minoxidil, a vasodilating antihypertensive drug, was given orally in doses of 0.5, 1.0, or 3.0 mg/kg to adult Beagle dogs on 2 consecutive days. Within 2 hr of administration, each of these doses produced hypotension and a marked tachycardia which persisted for as long as 24 hr after the second dose of minoxidil. Necropsies performed 24 hr after the second dose revealed focal, superficial areas of epicardial or endocardial hemorrhage in dogs given each of the three dose levels. Hemorrhage was associated with a mild inflammatory reaction and was not limited to the right atrium. Focal arteritis, characterized by extravasation of blood and by focal accumulation of erythrocytes and fibrin-like material in the walls of small coronary arteries, occurred in three hearts from the 3-mg/kg dose group. Myocardial necrosis was noted in one of eight dogs given the minimal pharmacologic dose of 0.5 mg/kg, and in five of eight dogs in each of the groups given 1 or 3 mg/kg. Necrosis was most frequent in the left ventricular papillary muscles, particularly the posterior one. An ischemic origin of the necrosis is suggested by the localization of the lesions and by the pharmacologic effects of minoxidil.

Subendocardial protection during cardiopulmonary bypass. Its use with methylprednisolone and glucose-insulin-potassium.

Fifteen adult dogs were equally divided into three groups: group 1 (control) received no medication before or after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), group 2 was administered glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) according to Maroko's protocol before, during, and after CPB, whereas group 3 was treated with methylprednisolone (30 mg/kg) 30 minutes prior to and near the end of CPB. Moderately severe subendocardial hemorrhage was present in 80% of group 1, 50% of group 2, and only 20% of group 3 ventricles. Endocardial viability ratios after CPB were greater than 0.75 in 20% of group 1, 80% of group 2, and 100% of group 3 animals. Both GIK and steroids improved subendocardial perfusion after anoxic arrest and CPB compared with controls. However, steroid-treated dogs exhibited less endocardial hemorrhage, improved contractility, and more rapid return to baseline conditions than either GIK or control animals. These data suggests that steroids could be considered whenever normothermic anoxic cardiac arrest is used for cardiac operations.