title: Spontaneous cardiac arrhythmias recorded in three experimentally- and drug-naive laboratory species (canine, primate, swine) during standard pre-study screening.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to collect and estimate the general prevalence of spontaneous irregularities in cardiac rhythms in three standard laboratory animal species: Beagle dog (N=2450), cynomolgus monkey (N=1563), and domestic swine (N=704) during standard preclinical screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  Standard prestudy Lead II hardwire ECG tracings were collected in purpose-bred, drug-, and experimentally-naive animals following receipt from an institutionally-approved vendor and prior to placement onto general toxicology or safety pharmacology studies over the course of 18 months. The ECGs were independently reviewed by two veterinary cardiologists/internists for the presence or absence of arrhythmias (dysrhythmia), conduction disturbances, or other normal variants or clinically significant waveform changes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Greater than 98% of all ECGs recorded in animals bred for laboratory use demonstrated sinus rhythms without morphologic abnormalities or arrhythmias.
authors.affiliation: Safety Pharmacology, MPI Research, Inc., 54943 North Main St., Mattawan, MI 49071-9399, USA. david.gauvin@mpiresearch.com
authors.forename: David V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Gauvin
authors.forename: Larry P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Tilley
authors.forename: Francis W K
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Theodore J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Baird
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004285:Dogs; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000592:standards*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000592:standards*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature