Investigation of echocardiographic and hematological changes in naturally infected dogs with Ehrlichiosis

Objective: There is a relationship between anaemia and cardiovascular diseases mainly due to hypoxia. In this context, the aim of this thesis project was to echocardiographically determine the changes in the heart caused by anaemia in dogs infected with Canine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (CME). Material and Methods: A total of 47 animals, including 38 dogs found to be infected with CME and 9 dogs found to be healthy, were evaluated. Sick animals were evaluated according to anaemia severity and divided into five subgroups. The dogs with CME and healthy dogs grouped according to anaemia severity were subjected to echocardiographic examination and their cardiac functions were evaluated. Results: The distribution of CME-infected animals into groups according to the severity of anaemia revealed non-anaemic, mild, moderate, severe and very severe anaemic cases. Although there was no significant change in cTnI levels between these groups, IVSd and IVSs measurements were significantly higher in the echocardiographic evaluation performed in the moderately anaemic group compared to the healthy control and non-anaemic groups, respectively. The FS percentage of dogs in the severe anaemic group was found to be significantly higher than the mild anaemic group. Conclusion: It can be said that there were no significant changes in cTnI levels according to the severity of anaemia in animals infected with CME and myocardial damage was not formed in most of the patients, but anaemia caused left ventricular hypertrophy within compensation mechanisms. Key words: Anaemia, Canine Ehrlichiosis, Echocardiography, cTnI.