Transient Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog with Addisonian Crisis
A 3-year-old spayed male mixed-breed Labrador presented to the Emergency and Critical Care Unit with lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, a recent history of presyncopal episodes, and severe exercise intolerance. On admission, the patient had bradycardia, low blood pressure, and mild abdominal pain...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| author | Paula Maria Pașca Gheorghe Solcan Andrei Blageanu Caroline Maria Lăcătuș Petru Cosmin Peștean Constantin Adrian Stancu Andrei Radu Baisan |
| author_facet | Paula Maria Pașca Gheorghe Solcan Andrei Blageanu Caroline Maria Lăcătuș Petru Cosmin Peștean Constantin Adrian Stancu Andrei Radu Baisan |
| author_sort | Paula Maria Pașca |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A 3-year-old spayed male mixed-breed Labrador presented to the Emergency and Critical Care Unit with lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, a recent history of presyncopal episodes, and severe exercise intolerance. On admission, the patient had bradycardia, low blood pressure, and mild abdominal pain. Serum biochemistry information revealed severe hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, and mildly increased liver and kidney parameters. Upon taking these findings into consideration, hypoadrenocorticism was suspected, and a basal cortisol level was determined; it was below 1.0 µg/dL. Upon examination with ultrasound, we observed that the size of the adrenal glands was considerably reduced. Due to the bradycardia, a complete cardiologic examination consisting of 5 min of six-lead electrocardiography and echocardiography (ECG) was performed. Six-lead ECG revealed a complete atrio-ventricular block with an atrial rate of 140 bpm and a ventricular rate of 60 bpm. The PQ interval was variable, without any evidence of atrio-ventricular conduction. Treatment for hyperkalemia was initiated immediately after admission, followed by dexamethasone sodium phosphate administration, which led to an improvement in the patient’s general condition, and the normalization of the ECG readings, after 24 h of therapy. Afterward, prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg/24 h p.o.) and desoxycorticosterone pivalate (2.2 mg/kg s.c.) were administered. This case shows that a third-degree atrioventricular block might be a reversible problem in dogs with hypoadrecorticism that can be managed with specific treatment for this disorder, without requiring pacemaker implantation. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2306-7381 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5fbb7dddd6343e689a3065f6f7461f12025-01-24T13:52:09ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812025-01-011216310.3390/vetsci12010063Transient Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog with Addisonian CrisisPaula Maria Pașca0Gheorghe Solcan1Andrei Blageanu2Caroline Maria Lăcătuș3Petru Cosmin Peștean4Constantin Adrian Stancu5Andrei Radu Baisan6Department of Clinics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaDepartment of Clinics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaDepartment of Clinics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Pathology, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I”, 300645 Timișoara, RomaniaDepartment of Clinics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, RomaniaA 3-year-old spayed male mixed-breed Labrador presented to the Emergency and Critical Care Unit with lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, a recent history of presyncopal episodes, and severe exercise intolerance. On admission, the patient had bradycardia, low blood pressure, and mild abdominal pain. Serum biochemistry information revealed severe hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, and mildly increased liver and kidney parameters. Upon taking these findings into consideration, hypoadrenocorticism was suspected, and a basal cortisol level was determined; it was below 1.0 µg/dL. Upon examination with ultrasound, we observed that the size of the adrenal glands was considerably reduced. Due to the bradycardia, a complete cardiologic examination consisting of 5 min of six-lead electrocardiography and echocardiography (ECG) was performed. Six-lead ECG revealed a complete atrio-ventricular block with an atrial rate of 140 bpm and a ventricular rate of 60 bpm. The PQ interval was variable, without any evidence of atrio-ventricular conduction. Treatment for hyperkalemia was initiated immediately after admission, followed by dexamethasone sodium phosphate administration, which led to an improvement in the patient’s general condition, and the normalization of the ECG readings, after 24 h of therapy. Afterward, prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg/24 h p.o.) and desoxycorticosterone pivalate (2.2 mg/kg s.c.) were administered. This case shows that a third-degree atrioventricular block might be a reversible problem in dogs with hypoadrecorticism that can be managed with specific treatment for this disorder, without requiring pacemaker implantation.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/1/63Addison’s diseaseadrenal glandscaninecomplete atrioventricular blockhyperkalemia |
| spellingShingle | Paula Maria Pașca Gheorghe Solcan Andrei Blageanu Caroline Maria Lăcătuș Petru Cosmin Peștean Constantin Adrian Stancu Andrei Radu Baisan Transient Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog with Addisonian Crisis Veterinary Sciences Addison’s disease adrenal glands canine complete atrioventricular block hyperkalemia |
| title | Transient Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog with Addisonian Crisis |
| title_full | Transient Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog with Addisonian Crisis |
| title_fullStr | Transient Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog with Addisonian Crisis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transient Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog with Addisonian Crisis |
| title_short | Transient Third-Degree Atrioventricular Block in a Dog with Addisonian Crisis |
| title_sort | transient third degree atrioventricular block in a dog with addisonian crisis |
| topic | Addison’s disease adrenal glands canine complete atrioventricular block hyperkalemia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/1/63 |
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