Successful treatment of an acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema through the use of mechanical ventilation in a feline with concentric hypertrophy and a false tendon in the left ventricle

DONATI PABLO; BELERENIAN GUILLERMO; MESPLET MARIA; FERNANDEZ VIVIANA; FIGULS ELIANA; GARGIULO NOELIA; GUEVARA JUAN MANUEL; LUZTMAN DENISE; MORETTI JULIETA; PLATAROTI ANABELLA; RODRIGUEZ SERGIO; TUNESI MARCELA; ZAYAS MACARENA; GUILLEMI ELIANA

Journal LAVECC

Sociedad Latinoamericana de Medicina Veterinaria de Emergencia y Cuidados Intensivos

Año: 2013 vol. 5 p. 148 - 161

1688-6100

Objective: Reporting the use of mechanical ventilation for the treatment of acute respiratory failure in a feline patient with acutecardiogenic pulmonary edema.Clinical Case: A 2-year- old castrated female Snowshoe feline suffering from acute dyspnea was referred to the clinic. A 3/6 systolicmurmur in the left parasternal region was detected in the physical examination and auscultation also revealed increases in thebronchovesicular sounds. Generalized cardiomegaly and severe increase of lung density in the perihilar region were diagnosed byradiographic evaluation of the chest. The severity of the feline?s respiratory distress, together with the recruitment of accessory musclesand the implied increased risk of respiratory muscle fatigue led us to decide the initiation of mechanical ventilation. Furosemide and topicnitroglycerine were administrated. Twenty four hours after the initiation of mechanical ventilation radiologic examination was repeated andan improvement from the previous study was observed. As a result, weaning the patient from the ventilator was decided. The patientrecovered well and 24 hours after being discharged, an echocardiografic evaluation showed concentric left ventricular hypertrophy and afalse tendon with insertion from the anterior papillary muscle head to the subaortic endocardium septum across the lumen outflow tract ofthe left ventricle.Clinical relevance: To the author´s knowledge, it is the first time that the use of mechanical ventilation in feline patients suffering fromacute cardiogenic pulmonary edema due to diastolic dysfunction was ever reported.