| dc.description.abstract | Tricuspid valve dysplasia (TVD) is a congenital malformation of the right atrioventricular valves. This disease is known to cause right sided congestive heart failure in dogs. Clinical signs of symptomatic patients include exercise intolerance, syncope, dyspnea and ascites. Because of a low prevalence, there is only limited information available about the clinical presentation and prognostic factors in dogs with TVD. Prognostic factors mentioned in literature are the degree of tricuspid regurgitation and associated cardiac enlargement, and the age of onset of cardiac complaints.1 However, these factors are based on personal experiences and not on results of scientific studies.
In this study, we aim to gain more knowledge about the prevalence, clinical presentation and prognostic factors. Between January 2002 en September 2014, 24 patients were diagnosed with TVD in the university clinic for companion animals in Utrecht, The Netherlands, which equals 6.1% off our total population of patients which congenital cardiac diseases.
This study showed a significant difference in survival time between the patients that became symptomatic within 1 year of age and the patients that developed clinical signs after their first year (p=0.006). Literature suggests no existing relationship between the intensity of the murmur over the tricuspid valve and the prognosis. In the groups of patients that presented with a louder murmur compared to the group with a softer murmur, we found a higher percentage of symptomatic patients within one year of age (33.3% vs. 44.4%). However, no significance was proven.
Echocardiographic findings that are seen in TVD are insufficiency of the tricuspid valve, eccentric hypertrophy of the right ventricle and right atrium dilation. The median follow-up time of a patient with milder cardiac changes on echocardiogram, is higher than in patients with more severe changes. These results are found in both the entire cohort, as well as in the group of patients that died during follow-up (survival time). Also, the mean age at death in symptomatic patients is higher in this first group, compared to the second group (51.5 months versus 28.3 months). Furthermore, patients with more severe changes on echocardiogram developed cardiac complaints at a younger age, when compared to patients with fewer changes on echocardiogram. | |
