| Summary: | The purpose of this study was to monitor left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) and diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in dogs with severe sepsis and septic shock (SS/SS). A prospective longitudinal study using 23 dogs with SS/SS (experimental group) and 20 healthy dogs (control group) were carried out. All the clinical, laboratory and cardiologic examinations for the experimental dogs were performed at admission, 6 and 24 h after the start of treatment and on the day of discharge. LVSD was described as LV ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50%. LVDD was determined when the septal mitral annulus early diastolic velocity (LVEm) was <8 cm/s. LVSD and LVDD were present in 3 and 16 dogs with SS/SS, respectively, with both types of dysfunction present in 2 of the dogs. Although all the dogs with LVSD survived, 8 dogs with LVDD did not. The survival period was significantly shorter in dogs with an LVEm < 8 cm/s (1.3 ± 1.4 days). In conclusion, LVDD, rather than LVSD, was a common cardiovascular abnormality in the septic dogs, and this may be a negative prognostic factor. TTE is a useful tool for the identifying and monitoring of myocardial dysfunction in the dogs with SS/SS.
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