Rabbit Medicine and Surgery Q&A 02

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A six-year-old New Zealand White rabbit presented collapsed, in thin body condition and with moderate dyspnoea. Pulse deficits and an irregular heart rhythm with tachycardia (280 bpm) were detected on clinical examination. An electro- cardiogram was taken at the time.

Question	Answer		Article
What is your diagnosis?	Atrial fibrillation. The p waves are absent, notably seen on lead I. Lead II shows only small oscillating waves. The QRS complexes are normal shaped and the interval between successive QRS complexes is irregular. The interval between beats two and three and five and six is prolonged in comparison with the other beats on the ECG trace, and this is because of intermittent AV block.		Link to Article
How would you treat this condition?	This is a severe arrhythmia, which occurs with severe heart disease, including congestive heart failure. The congestive heart failure must be controlled. Treatment in this case consisted of frusemide (furosemide) (1 mg/kg i/m q6h). The rabbit died 24 hours later and the owner declined postmortem examination. Digoxin may be used to slow the ventricular rate. This drug has been used in pet rabbits and anecdotal dose rates (10 μg/kg p/o q24–48h) are extrapolated from feline medicine.		Link to Article