Echocardiographic findings of tricuspid blood cyst mimicking bacterial endocarditis in a dairy cow.
The most common endocardial disease in cattle is bacterial endocarditis. The diagnosis of the disease in living animals is mainly based on clinical findings and echocardiographic detection of an irregularly thickened valve. Despite its presumed good sensitivity, little is known on the specificity of transthoracic echocardiography with regards to endocarditis. This case report describes the echocardiographic findings in a dairy cow diagnosed with a chronic inflammatory process, liver and splenic abscesses and tricuspid valve blood cysts that can be mistaken for bacterial endocarditis, thus emphasizing the need to improve antemortem diagnostic tools for endocarditis in cattle.
Clinique ambulatoire bovine, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Saint-Hyacinthe, Université de Montréal, QC, Canada. s.buczinski@umontreal.ca
Sébastien
S
Buczinski
Mauricio
M
Badillo
Anne-Marie
AM
Bélanger
Ali
A
Rezakhani
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003560:Cysts / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000662:veterinary*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000662:veterinary; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014261:Tricuspid Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*