Evaluation of electrocardiographic and serum biochemical changes in arrhythmias associated with renal diseases of dogs

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate electrocardiographical (ECG) and haemato-biochemical changes in arrhythmia associated with renal diseases in dogs. The dogs with renal affections confirmed through appropriate diagnostic methods were selected and screened for arrhythmia. The ECG and haemato-biochemical parameters of twenty dogs with arrhythmia were compared with that of the control group and ECG parameters were statistically correlated with the haemato-biochemical parameters for correlation studies. It was found that the occurrence of arrhythmia was 51.2 per cent in renal diseases. Arrhythmia was more predominant in dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD) followed by acute kidney injury (AKI). Sinus arrhythmia followed by first-degree AV block and wandering pacemaker were the common types of arrhythmias observed. A significant increase in R-R interval and a decrease in heart rate was noticed in comparison. The haemato-biochemical analysis revealed anaemia, leukocytosis with neutrophilia, elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine and magnesium level. A significant positive correlation was noticed between haemoglobin, volume of packed red cells (VPRC) and red blood cell count (RBC) with T amplitude and, creatinine and BUN levels with corrected Q-T interval. A significant negative correlation was noticed between VPRC, RBC and haemoglobin with the corrected QT interval. The present study revealed ECG and haemato-biochemical parameters had a significant role in renal diseases in dogs which might help in the early diagnosis and proper management of arrhythmia associated with renal diseases.