Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29143659›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2017

Effect of heartworm disease and heartworm-associated respiratory disease (HARD) on the right ventricle of cats.

Randolph L Winter, A Ray Dillon, Russell C Cattley, Byron L Blagburn, D Michael Tillson, Calvin M Johnson, William R Brawner, Elizabeth G Welles, Sharon Barney

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Article in Parasites & vectors, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Randolph L WinterDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA. rlw0041@auburn.edu.
A Ray DillonDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
Russell C CattleyDepartment of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
Byron L BlagburnDepartment of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
D Michael TillsonDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
Calvin M JohnsonDepartment of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
William R BrawnerDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
Elizabeth G WellesDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
Sharon BarneyDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDirofilaria immitis infection occurs in dogs and cats, both of which species are clinically affected by mature adult infections. Cats are uniquely affected by immature-adult infections with an inflammatory pulmonary disease called Heartworm-Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD). D. immitis infection causes pulmonary parenchymal and vascular pathology in the dog and cat. Dogs develop pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale, whereas the development of pulmonary hypertension is rare in the cat. D. immitis infection in the dog causes alteration of the right ventricular (RV) extracellular matrix, including a decrease in myocardial collagen. In this study, the RV myocardial changes of cats infected with adult and immature-adult D. immitis were assessed.

methodsThe cardiopulmonary systems of six groups of SPF cats (n = 9-10 per group) were examined 8 or 18 months after infection with L3 D. immitis. Two groups were untreated and allowed to develop adult HW; two groups were treated with ivermectin starting 3 months post infection, thus allowing HARD but no mature adult heartworms; and two groups were treated with selamectin beginning 1 month post infection, preventing development of L5 or adult heartworms. A group of specific pathogen free (SPF) normal cats was utilized as a negative control (n = 12). Lung pathologic lesions were objectively assessed, and both RV and left ventricular (LV) weights were obtained to calculate an RV/LV ratio. Intramural RV myocardial collagen content was quantitatively assessed.

resultsRV/LV weight ratios were not different between groups. Negative control cats had significantly greater RV collagen content than all other affected groups (P = 0.032). Analysis of the RV/LV ratios and collagen content revealed no significant relationship (r = 0.03, P = 0.723, respectively). Collagen content had a modest, but significant, negative correlation, however, with both pulmonary vascular pathology (r = -0.25, P = 0.032) as well as the total pulmonary parenchymal and vascular pathology (r = -0.26, P = 0.025).

conclusionsCats infected with mature and immature D. immitis did not develop RV hypertrophy but did demonstrate loss of RV myocardial collagen content. The collagen loss was present at 8 and 18 months after infection in all infected cats. This loss of RV myocardial collagen was correlated with the severity of pulmonary parenchymal and vascular pathology.

Indexed as

AnimalsCat DiseasesCatsDirofilaria immitisDirofilariasisFemaleHeart VentriclesLung DiseasesMaleCollagenFelineHeartwormMyocardial

Identifiers

PMID29143659
PMCPMC5688429

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.