Evaluation of Cardiomegaly in Dogs Using the Manubrium Heart Score Method and Determination of Its Diagnostic Accuracy in Comparison with the Vertebral Heart Score

Vertebral Heart Score (VHS) is one of the commonly used methods for detecting cardiomegaly in dogs. However, this method has diagnostic limitations due to factors such as breed variations, orthopedic disorders, anatomical anomalies, and operator-dependent subjectivity. The aim of this study was to e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bengü Bilgiç, Onur İskefli, Michela Pugliese, Mehmet Erman Or
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Veterinary Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/7/619
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849713185066582016
author Bengü Bilgiç
Onur İskefli
Michela Pugliese
Mehmet Erman Or
author_facet Bengü Bilgiç
Onur İskefli
Michela Pugliese
Mehmet Erman Or
author_sort Bengü Bilgiç
collection DOAJ
description Vertebral Heart Score (VHS) is one of the commonly used methods for detecting cardiomegaly in dogs. However, this method has diagnostic limitations due to factors such as breed variations, orthopedic disorders, anatomical anomalies, and operator-dependent subjectivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the Manubrium Heart Score (MHS) as an alternative to VHS in the assessment of cardiomegaly in dogs. A total of 490 dogs were classified and grouped based on body weight and cardiac health status. On the right lateral thoracic radiographs, MHS was calculated as the ratio of manubrium length (ML) to the sum of the long-axis heart length (cLAL) and short-axis heart length (cSAL). Similarly, VHS was determined. A positive correlation between VHS and MHS, as well as between ML and cSAL/cLAL, were observed in all groups except for the group of medium sized dogs with heart diseases. No correlations were found between MHS and LA or the LA/Ao ratio. In pairwise comparisons of VHS and MHS between heart-diseased and healthy dogs, the mean VHS showed a statistically significant difference in heart-diseased dogs (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and not across all groups (<i>p</i> > 0.05). MHS may not consider a useful method as an alternative to VHS.
format Article
id doaj-art-eb92aa1aa5e64d77a0793141491d60a5
institution DOAJ
issn 2306-7381
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Veterinary Sciences
spelling doaj-art-eb92aa1aa5e64d77a0793141491d60a52025-08-20T03:14:01ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812025-06-0112761910.3390/vetsci12070619Evaluation of Cardiomegaly in Dogs Using the Manubrium Heart Score Method and Determination of Its Diagnostic Accuracy in Comparison with the Vertebral Heart ScoreBengü Bilgiç0Onur İskefli1Michela Pugliese2Mehmet Erman Or3Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul 34320, TürkiyeVeterinary Cardiology Center Veterinary Clinic, Üsküdar, Istanbul 34660, TürkiyeDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, ItalyDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul 34320, TürkiyeVertebral Heart Score (VHS) is one of the commonly used methods for detecting cardiomegaly in dogs. However, this method has diagnostic limitations due to factors such as breed variations, orthopedic disorders, anatomical anomalies, and operator-dependent subjectivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the Manubrium Heart Score (MHS) as an alternative to VHS in the assessment of cardiomegaly in dogs. A total of 490 dogs were classified and grouped based on body weight and cardiac health status. On the right lateral thoracic radiographs, MHS was calculated as the ratio of manubrium length (ML) to the sum of the long-axis heart length (cLAL) and short-axis heart length (cSAL). Similarly, VHS was determined. A positive correlation between VHS and MHS, as well as between ML and cSAL/cLAL, were observed in all groups except for the group of medium sized dogs with heart diseases. No correlations were found between MHS and LA or the LA/Ao ratio. In pairwise comparisons of VHS and MHS between heart-diseased and healthy dogs, the mean VHS showed a statistically significant difference in heart-diseased dogs (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and not across all groups (<i>p</i> > 0.05). MHS may not consider a useful method as an alternative to VHS.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/7/619cardiomegalymanubriumheartdogs
spellingShingle Bengü Bilgiç
Onur İskefli
Michela Pugliese
Mehmet Erman Or
Evaluation of Cardiomegaly in Dogs Using the Manubrium Heart Score Method and Determination of Its Diagnostic Accuracy in Comparison with the Vertebral Heart Score
Veterinary Sciences
cardiomegaly
manubrium
heart
dogs
title Evaluation of Cardiomegaly in Dogs Using the Manubrium Heart Score Method and Determination of Its Diagnostic Accuracy in Comparison with the Vertebral Heart Score
title_full Evaluation of Cardiomegaly in Dogs Using the Manubrium Heart Score Method and Determination of Its Diagnostic Accuracy in Comparison with the Vertebral Heart Score
title_fullStr Evaluation of Cardiomegaly in Dogs Using the Manubrium Heart Score Method and Determination of Its Diagnostic Accuracy in Comparison with the Vertebral Heart Score
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of Cardiomegaly in Dogs Using the Manubrium Heart Score Method and Determination of Its Diagnostic Accuracy in Comparison with the Vertebral Heart Score
title_short Evaluation of Cardiomegaly in Dogs Using the Manubrium Heart Score Method and Determination of Its Diagnostic Accuracy in Comparison with the Vertebral Heart Score
title_sort evaluation of cardiomegaly in dogs using the manubrium heart score method and determination of its diagnostic accuracy in comparison with the vertebral heart score
topic cardiomegaly
manubrium
heart
dogs
url https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/7/619
work_keys_str_mv AT bengubilgic evaluationofcardiomegalyindogsusingthemanubriumheartscoremethodanddeterminationofitsdiagnosticaccuracyincomparisonwiththevertebralheartscore
AT onuriskefli evaluationofcardiomegalyindogsusingthemanubriumheartscoremethodanddeterminationofitsdiagnosticaccuracyincomparisonwiththevertebralheartscore
AT michelapugliese evaluationofcardiomegalyindogsusingthemanubriumheartscoremethodanddeterminationofitsdiagnosticaccuracyincomparisonwiththevertebralheartscore
AT mehmetermanor evaluationofcardiomegalyindogsusingthemanubriumheartscoremethodanddeterminationofitsdiagnosticaccuracyincomparisonwiththevertebralheartscore