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A 5-year-old male toy poodle was referred for corrective surgery of an atrial septal defect. A sinus venosus-type atrial septal defect (ASD) with partial anomalous venous connection, suspected pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary edema was confirmed by radiography, echocardiography, and cardiac computed tomography. Thoracic radiographs showed right heart enlargement. Echocardiography revealed right atrial and ventricular dilatation with mild flattening of the interventricular septum. Left-to-right shunt flow through the ASD was observed on color Doppler examination. Surgical correction of the sinus venosus ASD with a partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass. A follow-up evaluation at 1 year after surgery showed resolution of the right-sided volume overload and no evidence of recurrence of ASD. Complications were not observed. Our findings indicate that surgical correction under cardiopulmonary bypass is a valid treatment option for an ASD with a partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection.

Background In both humans and animals, anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare congenital coronary artery anomaly. In veterinary medicine, ALCAPA is reported to be discovered only during autopsy or necropsy, and diagnostic methods and prognosis remain poorly understood in dogs. Case presentation A 6-month-old Kaninchen Dachshund was diagnosed with functional mitral valve regurgitation and ALCAPA. Echocardiography identified anomalous vessels in the left ventricular wall and abnormal origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery. Further evaluation with coronary computed tomographic angiography demonstrated the left coronary artery arising from the posterior aspect of the main pulmonary artery together with the characteristic findings of ALCAPA. The right coronary artery was found to be dilated and tortuous. Furthermore, dilated coronary collateral arteries within the ventricular septum and along the epicardial surface were observed. The dog underwent surgery, but the origin of the anomalous artery could not be ligated, and it died from pulmonary edema 5 months after surgery. Conclusion Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery is overlooked in clinical practice due to its rarity. Coronary computed tomographic angiography was useful to definitively diagnose ALCAPA in a low-invasive manner. Antemortem diagnosis of ALCAPA was shown to be possible in dogs for the first time, and presence of unexplained mitral valve regurgitation should raise concern to this anomaly.

Objectives Unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis (UDP) due to phrenic nerve injury is a potential complication of thoracic surgery. This study evaluated the prevalence of UDP associated with surgical mitral valve repair (MVR) and its effect on surgical outcomes in dogs. Animals, materials and Methods Two hundred ninety-four dogs that underwent MVR were included in the study. A retrospective review of medical records was performed for dogs surviving surgery. Diagnosis of UDP was based on preoperative and postoperative thoracic dorsoventral radiographs. Results A total of 284 dogs survived until the day after surgery. The prevalence of UDP on the day after surgery, on the day of discharge, and after the first postoperative month was 30%, 24%, and 9%, respectively. One case of UDP was observed at 3 months after surgery. Unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis was exhibited by nine of the 21 patients that died in the hospital. The proportion of patients with UDP was higher in dogs that died of respiratory failure than in dogs that died of other causes (p = 0.002). Most dogs whose deaths were suspected to have been related to respiratory failure also had pre-existing respiratory diseases. The occurrence of UDP did not relate to the lengths of stay in the intensive care unit or the hospital. Conclusions Our findings suggest that UDP is a common complication in dogs after MVR and that the prevalence of UDP decreases with time after surgery. Unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis is a risk factor for postoperative death, especially in patients with pre-existing respiratory disease.

At present, various energy problems occur on the earth. In order to solve the problems utilization of hydrogen is a candidate. Because hydrogen is a clean and highly efficient energy that does not produce sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides and is attracting attention as a substitute for primary energy such as petroleum and natural gas. In this study, we focused on the ruthenium cluster unit (1-mer) forming a cyclic structure having three ruthenium ions in a mixed-valence state. Here, we examined a catalytic function of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the 1-mer modified highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) electrode. In addition, we have studied effects of alcohol as ligands for 1-mer. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were used for electrochemical measurements. HOPG was modified by drop casting of 0.5 μM 1-mer dichloromethane or methanol solution and used as a working electrode. A Ag/AgCl (KCl sat.) or a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) was used as a reference electrode, and a platinum plate was used as a counter electrode. LSV and CV were carried out in 0.1 M HClO4 in the presence of various alcohols such as methanol and ethanol. Figure 1 shows the LSVs of 0.1 M HClO4 at the 1-mer modified HOPG. The surface concentration of 1-mer was cocurated to be 18 nmol cm-2. At the 1-mer modified HOPG electrode, the starting potential of HER was slightly shifted to positive as compared with that of bare HOPG electrode. This means that the 1-mer modified HOPG has a little catalytic activity for HER. On the other hand, addition of alcohol to the system changes drastically the catalytic activity of the HER. Onset potential of HER was shifted to positive by the addition of alcohol. Comparing the current densities in the presence of each alcohol at –0.80 V, the HER current was influenced by the kinds of alcohol. Especially, when methanol was added to the system, the current density of 0.02 A cm-2 at –0.80 V. Although the reason why the catalytic current for HER depends on the type of alcohol is not clear, it may be considered that the THF ligands of 1-mer are substituted by the alcohol used. We have been are studying the effect of surface concentration and nanoscale structure of 1-mer, and the anion of the electrolyte. Figure 1