Reference Values and Repeatability of Pulsed Wave Doppler Echocardiography Parameters in Normal Donkeys

Simple Summary Cardiovascular disease is underreported in donkeys, possibly related to their limited athletic posture and frequent poor performance-related examinations. Reports on treatments for cardiovascular disease are anecdotal in donkey. Normal echocardiographic parameters have been reported in healthy donkeys. The aim of the present study was to establish the reference values and repeatability for Pulsed Wave Doppler echocardiographic variables of the mitral valve, aortic valve and myocardial performance. Two-dimensional Color flow mapping and spectral Doppler modes were performed. For the mitral valve, the mean velocity, pressure gradient and duration of E-wave were 57.7 +/- 12.5 cm/s, 1.4 +/- 0.7 mmHg and 0.4 +/- 0.13 s, respectively. The results of the present study provide the reference values of PW echocardiographic parameters measurements in normal adult donkeys. Such reference values are helpful, especially when confronted with clinical cases with cardiovascular disorders. In the present study, thirty clinically healthy donkeys were used to establish the reference values and repeatability for Pulsed Wave Doppler echocardiographic variables of the mitral valve, aortic valve and myocardial performance. 2-dimensional Color flow mapping and spectral Doppler modes were performed. For the mitral valve, the mean velocity, pressure gradient and duration of E-wave were 57.7 +/- 12.5 cm/s, 1.4 +/- 0.7 mmHg and 0.4 +/- 0.13 s, respectively. The velocity, pressure gradient and duration of the A-wave were 32.3 +/- 9.1 cm/s, 0.3 +/- 0.04 mmHg and 0.3 +/- 0.1 s, respectively. The mitral valve area, pressure half time, pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI) and velocity time integral (VTI) were 1.8 +/- 0.5 cm(2), 66 +/- 17 ms, 2.8 +/- 1.4, 0.9 +/- 0.03 and 19.1 +/- 5.7 cm, respectively. For the aortic valve, the mean velocity was 64.9 +/- 10.4 cm/s, pressure gradient was 1.8 +/- 0.4 mmHg, pulsatility index was 1.4 +/- 0.3, resistance index was 0.9 +/- 0.02, VTI was 25.02 +/- 6.2 cm, systolic/diastolic was 19 +/- 4.7 and heart rate was 95.7 +/- 28.9 per minute. For Myocardial Performance Index (LV)-Tei Index, the mean ejection, isovolumic relaxation, isovolumic contraction time and myocardial performance index were 0.24 +/- 0.01, 0.14 +/- 0.01, 0.14 +/- 0.02 and 1.2 +/- 0.1 s, respectively. The results of the present study provide the reference values of PW echocardiographic parameter measurements in normal adult donkeys. Such reference values are helpful, especially when confronted with clinical cases with cardiovascular disorders.

Automated summary

This study aimed to establish reference values and repeatability for echocardiographic parameters in donkeys and found that these reference values can be helpful for diagnosing cardiovascular disorders in donkeys.