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Ventricular septal defect and congestive heart failure in a common degu (Octodon degus)
Jessica N Sanchez1, Noémie M E Summa1, Lance C Visser1
1William M. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of California Davis, 1 Garrod Drive, Davis, CA 95616 U.S.A.
Abstract:
We report a case of ventricular septal defect causing congestive heart failure in a two-year-old, male common degu (Octodon degus). The patient presented for anorexia and dental disease, and a grade 4/6 holosystolic cardiac murmur was detected on physical exam. Thoracic radiographs showed cardiomegaly and a diffuse interstitial pulmonary pattern, consistent with congestive heart failure. Echocardiography was supportive of a perimembranous ventricular septal defect exhibiting low-velocity left-to-right shunting, and biatrial enlargement. These diagnoses were confirmed on post-mortem exam, along with pulmonary edema and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, degeneration, and regeneration. This is the first published account of a ventricular septal defect and congestive heart failure in a degu.
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