Symptomatic partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection in a kitten

J Vet Intern Med. 2020 Nov;34(6):2677-2681. doi: 10.1111/jvim.15934. Epub 2020 Oct 16.

Abstract

A 3-month-old intact female American Shorthair cat, with syncope and tachypnea, underwent cardiac examination which identified no heart murmur or gallop. Thoracic radiography disclosed mild generalized enlargement of the cardiac silhouette and a bronchial and interstitial pattern throughout the lungs. Echocardiography identified tubular structures near the left atrium. After agitated saline contrast imaging, persistent left cranial vena cava with unroofed coronary sinus was suspected. Computed tomography angiography showed the right cranial, right caudal and left caudal pulmonary veins draining into the coronary sinus and flowing into the right atrium. The left cranial pulmonary vein drained normally into the left atrium. Partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) was diagnosed. The kitten was treated with diuretics but died of heart failure 2 months later. Permission for necropsy was not granted. This case represents symptomatic PAPVC in a kitten. Most pulmonary veins were connected abnormally with the coronary sinus. The prognosis was grave because of refractory heart failure.

Keywords: agitated saline contrast imaging; computed tomography angiography; congenital cardiovascular disease; feline; heart failure.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Angiography
  • Animals
  • Cat Diseases* / diagnostic imaging
  • Cats
  • Female
  • Heart Atria / diagnostic imaging
  • Heart Septal Defects, Atrial* / veterinary
  • Lung
  • Pulmonary Veins* / diagnostic imaging