Saey V, Vandecasteele T, van Loon G, Cornillie P, Ploeg M, Delesalle C, Gröne A, Gielen I, Ducatelle R, Chiers K. Friesian horses as a possible model for human acquired aortopulmonary fistulation.
BMC Res Notes 2016;
9:405. [PMID:
27527829 PMCID:
PMC4986238 DOI:
10.1186/s13104-016-2201-5]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 08/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Background
Acquired aortopulmonary fistulation is a rare condition in humans. It usually results as a late complication of a true or pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta. It is most commonly associated with trauma or surgery, less commonly with atherosclerosis, inflammation, hypertension or Marfan’s syndrome. Aortopulmonary fistulation is also seen as a rare complication of acute aortic dissection. On rare occasions, acquired aortopulmonary fistulation is reported in aged patients without any of the above mentioned triggering factors. Thus, these cases should be considered as idiopathic aortopulmonary fistulation. Clearly, the pathogenesis of this condition is not yet completely understood. Friesian horses are highly inbred and are affected by several genetic conditions. Rupture of the thoracic aorta has a relatively high prevalence in Friesian horses and is often characterized by the formation of a pseudoaneurysm with subsequent fistulation into the pulmonary artery. Affected animals may survive for several weeks to months.
Findings
Here we performed vascular casting in three affected Friesian horses. In all three cases, an aortic rupture at the caudoventral side of the aorta was connected with a rupture of the main pulmonary artery just proximal to its bifurcation.
Conclusions
Affected Friesians show a consistent location and configuration of the aortic rupture site, very similar to the human condition and therefore could act as a spontaneous model to study this disease.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-016-2201-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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