In dogs with chronic degenerative mitral valve disease, a vertebral heart score ≤ 11.4 accurately excluded a cough of cardiac origin with 92% sensitivity and 75% specificity (AUC 0.92).
Cross-Sectional (n=90)
Observers blinded to quantitative echocardiographic and echo-Doppler data
No
Does the vertebral heart score help differentiate the origin of cough in dogs with chronic degenerative mitral valve disease?
A vertebral heart score ≤ 11.4 is a useful radiographic tool to exclude a cardiac origin of cough in dogs with chronic degenerative mitral valve disease.
Effect estimate: AUC 0.92
Absolute Event Rate: 12.8% vs 11%
p-value: p=<0.001
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of the vertebral heart score (VHS) in coughing dogs with chronic degenerative mitral valve disease (MVD). Survey thoracic radiographs of 90 dogs with a history of cough and clinical and echocardiographic evidence of MVD were evaluated by 2 independent observers. The observers were asked to first determine the origin of the cough as cardiac, non-cardiac or mixed and then to measure the VHS. Agreement regarding diagnosis of the origin of cough was obtained (kappa=0.64) in 69 dogs. Of these 69 dogs, 28 (41%), 32 (46%) and 9 (13%) had a cough of cardiac, non-cardiac and mixed origin, respectively. The dogs with a cough of non-cardiac origin had a significantly lower VHS (mean +/- SD, 11 +/- 0.9) compared with those of dogs with a cough of cardiac or mixed origin (12.8 +/- 1 and 12.9 +/- 0.9, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that a VHS < or = 11.4 is fairly accurate for exclusion of a cough of cardiac origin in dogs with MVD. The results indicate that the VHS may be an additional tool for differentiating the origin of cough in dogs with MVD.
Guglielmini et al. (Thu,) conducted a cross-sectional in Chronic degenerative mitral valve disease (MVD) with cough (n=90). Vertebral heart score (VHS) vs. Cough of non-cardiac origin was evaluated on Vertebral heart score (VHS) in dogs with cough of cardiac origin compared to non-cardiac origin (AUC 0.92, p=<0.001). In dogs with chronic degenerative mitral valve disease, a vertebral heart score ≤ 11.4 accurately excluded a cough of cardiac origin with 92% sensitivity and 75% specificity (AUC 0.92).
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: