Short-Term Outcome and Clinical Data Assessment of 21 Dogs undergoing Patent Ductus Arteriosus Ligation (2017-2019)

Abstract

Background: Published data of incidence of reflex bradycardia (Branham sign) following surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is very limited. Objective: Our goal was to find a correlation between clinical data of dogs undergoing PDA ligation hypothesising that (1) younger dogs are less likely to suffer from reflex bradycardia over the course of 10 minutes after complete ligation of PDA, and (2) younger dogs undergo more pronounced left atrial remodelling after surgery. Animals: Twenty-one referred dogs. Materials and methods: Prospective analysis of clinical data of 21 referred cases with PDA. Outcome was determined by contacting owners and referring veterinarians as well as cardiologists performing the post-surgical echocardiography. All dog owners were asked to do a control echocardiography four weeks post-surgery.