Lee Han-Joon, Park Hyung-Jin, Song Joong-Hyun, Song Kun-Ho
College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea.
Sungsim Animal Medical Center, 131, Gyeryong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea.
Vet Sci. 2023 Aug 1;10(8):493. doi: 10.3390/vetsci10080493.
Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is the most common chronic heart valve disease, leading to left-sided cardiomegaly in dogs. The leaflet-annulus index (LAI) was originally used in humans as a predictor of mitral regurgitation (MR) after mitral valve repair surgery. This index represents the quantity and severity of MR since it is affected by annular dilation. Recently, LAI was adapted to veterinary medicine, and its usefulness as an indicator of annular dilation on 2D transthoracic echocardiography in MMVD dogs was suggested. For this study, 135 Maltese dogs were selected and divided into groups of control, B1, and B2, according to the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine consensus statement. The following data were collected: radiographic indices including the vertebral heart score and vertebral left atrial size, echocardiographic indices including the left-atrium-to-aortic-root ratio (LA:Ao), left ventricular internal diameter at diastole, normalized for body weight, and anteroposterior length and LAI measured on right parasternal long-axis view. The results showed a significant difference in LAI between each group, becoming smaller as the disease progressed. Also, there was a significant correlation between LAI and each index, showing the strongest correlation with LA:Ao. LAI could be helpful as a new indicator used for the determination of severity and prognosis in Maltese dogs with MMVD.
黏液瘤样二尖瓣疾病（MMVD）是犬类最常见的慢性心脏瓣膜疾病，可导致犬左侧心脏肥大。瓣叶-瓣环指数（LAI）最初用于人类，作为二尖瓣修复手术后二尖瓣反流（MR）的预测指标。该指数代表了MR的数量和严重程度，因为它受瓣环扩张的影响。最近，LAI被应用于兽医学领域，并且有人提出它可作为MMVD犬二维经胸超声心动图中瓣环扩张的一个指标。在本研究中，根据美国兽医内科学院的共识声明，选择了135只马尔济斯犬，并将其分为对照组、B1组和B2组。收集了以下数据：影像学指标，包括椎体心脏评分和椎体左心房大小；超声心动图指标，包括左心房与主动脉根部比值（LA:Ao）、经体重标准化的舒张期左心室内径、右胸骨旁长轴视图上测量的前后径长度和LAI。结果显示，每组之间的LAI存在显著差异，且随着疾病进展而变小。此外，LAI与每个指标之间都存在显著相关性，与LA:Ao的相关性最强。LAI作为一种用于判定患有MMVD的马尔济斯犬严重程度和预后的新指标可能会有所帮助。
