Radiographic features of cardiogenic pulmonary edema in dogs with mitral regurgitation: 61 cases (1998-2007)

Objective—To evaluate radiographic distribution of pulmonary edema (PE) in dogs withmitral regurgitation (MR) and investigate the association between location of radiographicfindings and direction of the mitral regurgitant jet (MRJ).Design—Retrospective case series.Animals—61 dogs with cardiogenic PE and MR resulting from mitral valve disease (MVD;51 dogs), dilated cardiomyopathy (9), and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (1).Procedures—Thoracic radiographs of dogs with Doppler echocardiographic evidence ofMR were reviewed for location (diffuse, perihilar, or focal) of PE. Also, direction (central oreccentric) of the MRJ, as evaluated by Doppler color flow mapping (DCFM), and distribution(symmetric or asymmetric) of radiographic findings were evaluated.Results—Diffuse, perihilar, and focal increases in pulmonary opacity were observed in11 (18.0%), 7 (11.5%), and 43 (70.5%) of 61 dogs, respectively. Radiographic evidence ofasymmetric PE in a single lung lobe or 2 ipsilateral lobes was found in 21 dogs, with involvementof only the right caudal lung lobe in 17 dogs. Doppler color flow mapping of the MRJwas available for 46 dogs. Of 31 dogs with a central MRJ, 28 had radiographic findingsindicative of symmetric PE. Of 15 dogs with eccentric MRJ, 11 had radiographic evidenceof asymmetric PE, and all of these dogs had MVD.Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In dogs with cardiogenic PE, a symmetric radiographicdistribution of increased pulmonary opacity was predominantly associated with a central MRJ,whereas an asymmetric radiographic distribution was usually associated with eccentric MRJ,especially in dogs with MVD.[...]