Clinical presentation and ultrasonographic findings in buffaloes with congestive heart failure

Authors: HUSSEIN AWAD HUSSEIN, RUDOLF STAUFENBIEL

Abstract: The objective of this retrospective study was to describe the clinical presentation and ultrasonographic findings in water buffaloes suffering from congestive heart failure. Fifty-three buffaloes with congestive heart failure, which was confirmed postmortem, were included. The final diagnoses were traumatic pericarditis (n = 38) and vegetative endocarditis (n = 15). Ten healthy buffaloes were enrolled in this study as controls. The main clinical presentations were those related to right-sided congestive heart failure including peripheral edema, venous distension and jugular pulsation, and a sharp drop in milk yield. Only 5 buffaloes exhibited signs of left-sided heart failure. Ultrasonographic examinations showed cardiac and extracardiac lesions. Accumulation of massive anechoic fluids in the pericardial sacs, peritoneum, and pleura represented pericardial, peritoneal, and pleural effusions, respectively. In buffaloes with endocarditis, the affected valves appeared as hyperechogenic thick mass structures with nodular or proliferative vegetative lesions. Small (<25 mm) and large (>25 mm) vegetative lesions were imaged. The most affected valve was the tricuspid (n = 8), then the mitral (n = 5) and pulmonary (n = 2). In addition, perireticular abscesses, hepatomegaly, dilated caudal vena cava, and lung consolidations were also imaged. In conclusion, the prognosis seemed poor. Ultrasonography may be helpful in the evaluation of lesions in buffaloes with congestive heart failure.

Keywords: Buffaloes, heart, echocardiography, pericarditis, endocarditis

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