Right Pulmonary Artery Distensibility Index in Heartworm Infected Dogs: Are the Different Methods Leading to Same...

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Cardiology
• Pulmonary Vascular Disease
• Echocardiography

Background:

• Canine Heartworm Disease (HWD) primarily affects pulmonary vasculature.
• Reduced Pulmonary Artery Distensibility (PAD) is an early indicator of pulmonary vascular disease.
• The Right Pulmonary Artery Distensibility index (RPADi) quantifies this change via echocardiography.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare RPADi measurements derived from five distinct calculation techniques.
• To assess the clinical applicability and interchangeability of these methods.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, single-center observational study.
• Inclusion of 47 client-owned dogs.
• Off-line echocardiographic measurements averaged over three cardiac cycles by a blinded investigator.

Main Results:

• RPADi was successfully obtained using all five tested methods.
• Intra-observer variability was clinically acceptable for all measurements.
• Despite statistical agreement, methods are not interchangeable in clinical practice.

Conclusions:

• Various methods exist for RPADi calculation in dogs.
• Clinicians must specify the method used and its corresponding reference values.
• Standardization is needed for accurate interpretation of canine pulmonary artery distensibility.