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Cardiac damage in dogs infected with T brucei; clinical and electrocardiographic features
Author(s) -
Ndung'u J. M.,
McEwan N. A.,
Jennings F. W.,
Murray Max
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of small animal practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1748-5827
pISSN - 0022-4510
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-5827.1991.tb00891.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pericardial effusion , cardiology , electrocardiography , sinus bradycardia , ventricular tachycardia , t wave , auscultation , bradycardia , blood pressure , heart rate
Intravenous infection of dogs with Trypanosoma brucei resulted in an acute disease syndrome, characterised by fever, intense parasitaemia, severe anaemia and rapid weight loss. During the course of infection, evidence of severe cardiac abnormalities developed. Tachycardia and tachypnoea occurred soon after detection of parasitaemia, around day 6, progressing to severe bradycardia and dyspnoea in terminal stages of the disease in week 4. Murmurs of mitral and tricuspid incompetence were heard from day 12 by auscultation of the thoracic cavity. Electrocardiography revealed abnormalities in generation and conduction of electrical impulses, including sinus arrest and atrioventricular blocks, and accumulation of pericardial effusion in terminal stages. Effective treatment with the trypanocidal drug suramin resulted in rapid improvement of one of the dogs. When treatment was unsuccessful, however, chronic myocardial damage developed, with intramyocardial conduction defects, including S‐T segment and T wave changes, and ventricular escape beats. These abnormalities were similar to those reported for human African trypanosomiasis.