Idiopathic Hemorrhagic Pericardial Effusion in Cows

Idiopathic Hemorrhagic Pericardial Effusion as a Precursor to Epicardial Lymphosarcoma in Three Cows

“…No murmurs or arrhythmias were auscultated at any time in these cattle. These 3 cases share some similarities with the previous publications by Firshmann et al, Jesty and Sweeney and Buczinski and Badillo . However, no mention was made of neoplasia in these reports unlike the cattle described in this study.…”

“…In the study by Jesty and Sweeney, after treatment, 1 of the 2 cows was healthy at 6‐month follow‐up and the other survived for several years before being culled for unrelated reasons. Of the 5 cattle reported by Firshmann et al, 4 underwent treatment after which 2 were alive at follow‐up at 12 months and 2 years, 2 died at 6 months and 1 year post discharge from unrelated reasons, and 1 was euthanized without any attempt at treatment. The euthanized cow had some similar gross postmortem findings to the cattle of this report with dark red fluid within the pericardial sac and epicardial fibrin deposits.…”

“…There have been 3 previous reports in the literature of idiopathic pericardial effusion in dairy cattle . Two of these publications represent retrospective studies documenting mature dairy cattle that were presented for evaluation at referral hospitals with clinical signs of heart failure associated with a hemorrhagic pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade, the other was a single case report . The outcome of these cases was much more favorable than is typically associated with other forms of cardiac disease in adult cattle such as traumatic septic reticulopericarditis, endocarditis, and cardiac neoplasia .…”

Clinicopathological and ultrasonographic findings in 40 water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) with traumatic pericarditis

“…Echocardiography was valuable in early detection of the amount and echogenicity of the pericardial effusions, and for verification and differentiation of effusive and fibrinous pericarditis. However, Firshman and others (2006) and Buczinski and Badillo (2009) documented a decreased specificity for echocardiography in diagnosing idiopathic pericarditis. Buczinski (2009) reported the echocardiographic appearance of cardiac lymphoma as similar to traumatic pericarditis; therefore, he recommended pericardiocentesis for differential diagnosis.…”

“…The presence of large quantities of fibrin in the pericardium has been suggested as an important prognostic parameter in cases of pericarditis in human beings (LeWinter 2007) and also in cattle (Radostits and others 2007). Surprisingly, there have been recent reports of cows with evidence of massive amounts of echogenic deposits but, despite minimal treatment, having a good prognosis (Firshman and others 2006, Buczinski and Badillo 2009).…”