{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T11:55:10Z","timestamp":1787313310670,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Parasites Vectors"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Timing of spay-neuter surgery in heartworm-positive dogs has been a concern, primarily due to perceived risk of anesthetic complications secondary to cardiovascular compromise. In shelter settings, timing of spay-neuter surgery impacts length of stay and ultimate chance of adoption for heartworm-positive dogs, yet up to 13% of animal shelters may delay spay-neuter procedures until after adulticidal therapy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This retrospective review of medical records describes clinical and anesthetic monitoring parameters of heartworm-positive dogs presented for elective spay-neuter surgery in a veterinary student clinical training program. Dogs were assessed for anesthetic\/surgical candidacy based on physical examination findings alone and experienced standardized anesthetic protocols.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Patients included 94 females, 69 males, and one intersex patient with ages ranging from 6\u00a0months to 15\u00a0years. The heartworm status of 73 dogs (44.5%) was unknown at the time of anesthesia and surgery. Noteworthy cardiopulmonary findings on preoperative physical examination included two dogs with a cough and normal heart and lung sounds on auscultation, and five dogs with heart murmurs (grade 2,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20092; grade 3,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20093) with normal lung sounds on auscultation. Two of the dogs with a grade 3 heart murmur were evaluated by a veterinary cardiologist; one was determined to have no pulmonary artery disease, and one was identified as previously diagnosed with mitral valve insufficiency. Average anesthetic time was 98.6\u00a0min (range 13\u2013285\u00a0min.), 50.3\u00a0min for males and 133.7\u00a0min for females. Average oxygen saturation (SpO\n                      <jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>\n                      ) reading was 96% (range 89\u201399%); hypoxemia (&lt;\u200990%) was identified at five specific time points in four patients. Bradycardia (&lt;\u200960\u00a0beats per minutes [bpm]) was identified in four patients (2.4%). There were no perioperative anesthetic emergencies or deaths. A total of nine perioperative surgical complications were identified, six of which were unrelated to heartworm status. The remaining three reports consisted of blood-tinged mucus identified on the endotracheal tube after extubation.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>There was no evidence of increased risk of anesthetic or surgical complications in heartworm-positive dogs when screening was limited to a preoperative physical examination and standardized anesthetic protocols were used for elective sterilization procedures.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-026-07266-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T09:18:01Z","timestamp":1787217481000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Retrospective review of clinical and anesthetic findings in 164 heartworm-positive dogs undergoing spay-neuter surgery"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Michelle","family":"Salob","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian A.","family":"DiGangi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"7266_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2020.109130","volume":"282","author":"BA DiGangi","year":"2020","unstructured":"DiGangi BA. The American Heartworm Society and Association of Shelter Veterinarians\u2019 2019 shelter heartworm management practices survey. Vet Parasitol. 2020;282:109130.","journal-title":"Vet Parasitol"},{"key":"7266_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Polak KC, Smith-Blackmore M. Animal shelters: managing heartworms in resource-scarce environments. Vet Parasitol. 2014;206:78\u201382.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2014.03.023"},{"key":"7266_CR3","unstructured":"DeTar L, Doyle E, O\u2019Quin J, Berliner E, Bradley-Siemens N, Bushby P, et al. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians\u2019 guidelines for standards of care in animal shelters: second edition. J Shelter Med Commun Animal Health. 2022;1:1\u201376."},{"key":"7266_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Xue J, Fuller E, DiGangi B, Donnett U. The American heartworm society and association of shelter Veterinarians\u2019 2024 Shelter Heartworm management practices survey. In Preparation. 2025.","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-026-07502-1"},{"key":"7266_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Peterson KM, Chappell DE, Lewis B, Staton A, Dement E, Prater PE, et al. Heartworm-positive dogs recover without complications from surgical sterilization using cardiovascular sparing anesthesia protocol. Vet Parasitol. 2014;206:83\u20135.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2014.08.017"},{"key":"7266_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Quandt J. Anesthesia for the dog with heartworm disease: a brief, practical review. Parasit Vectors. 2023;16:151.","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-023-05722-3"},{"key":"7266_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2020.109131","volume":"283","author":"MK Ames","year":"2020","unstructured":"Ames MK, Atkins CE. Treatment of dogs with severe heartworm disease. Vet Parasitol. 2020;283:109131.","journal-title":"Vet Parasitol"},{"key":"7266_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Association of Shelter Veterinarians\u2019 Veterinary Task Force to Advance Spay-Neuter, Griffin B, Bushby PA, McCobb E, White SC, Rigdon-Brestle YK, et al. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians\u2019 2016 veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2016 July 15;249:165\u201388.","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.249.2.165"},{"key":"7266_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"612","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci12070612","volume":"12","author":"A Ca\u00f1\u00f3n P\u00e9rez","year":"2025","unstructured":"Ca\u00f1\u00f3n P\u00e9rez A, Marti-Scharfhausen S\u00e1nchez MDLR, Sevilla Ureba A, Hern\u00e1ndez Maga\u00f1a EZ, Viscasillas Monteagudo J, Mart\u00ednez Albi\u00f1ana A, et al. Influence of comprehensive pre-anaesthetic assessment on ASA classification and surgical cancellations in dogs and cats: a retrospective observational study. Veterinary Sci. 2025;12:612.","journal-title":"Veterinary Sci"},{"key":"7266_CR10","unstructured":"Jacobson L, DiGangi, B, Serrano M, Friedman J, Cuccinello M, Garcia H, et al. Low complication rates in 1,011 heartworm-infected shelter dogs undergong spay-neuter surgery prior to melarsomine treatment. In: Proceedings of the 18th triennial symposium of the American Heartworm Society. 2025."},{"key":"7266_CR11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tvjl.2008.06.011","volume":"182","author":"D Brodbelt","year":"2009","unstructured":"Brodbelt D. Perioperative mortality in small animal anaesthesia. Vet J. 2009;182:152\u201361.","journal-title":"Vet J"},{"key":"7266_CR12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"616","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rvsc.2021.04.012","volume":"1;136","author":"J Stetter","year":"2021","unstructured":"Stetter J, Boge GS, Gr\u00f6nlund U, Bergstr\u00f6m A. Risk factors for surgical site infection associated with clean surgical procedures in dogs. Res Vet Sci. 2021;1;136:616\u201321.","journal-title":"Res Vet Sci"},{"key":"7266_CR13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"186","DOI":"10.1111\/vcp.13358","volume":"53","author":"C Fraser","year":"2024","unstructured":"Fraser C, Wallace ML, Moorhead A, Tarigo J, Brainard BM. Evaluation of coagulation and platelet activation state and function in heartworm-infected dogs. Vet Clin Pathol. 2024;53:186\u201395.","journal-title":"Vet Clin Pathol"},{"key":"7266_CR14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"314","DOI":"10.1111\/jsap.13834","volume":"66","author":"BK Newmans","year":"2025","unstructured":"Newmans BK, Fudge JM, Clarkin-Breslin R, Silverstein DC, Verocai GG. Comparison of viscoelastic coagulation parameters, blood loss and surgical time between asymptomatic heartworm antigen-positive and negative dogs presented for elective gonadectomy. J Small Anim Pract. 2025;66:314\u201320.","journal-title":"J Small Anim Pract"},{"key":"7266_CR15","unstructured":"American Heartworm Society. American Heartworm Society Canine guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, and management of heartworm infection in dogs. [Internet]. American Heartworm SOciety; 2024 [cited 2025 Oct 25]. Available from: https:\/\/d3ft8sckhnqim2.cloudfront.net\/images\/AHS_Canine_Guidelines_WEB_19JUN2025.pdf?1750365484"},{"key":"7266_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"333","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2011.01.018","volume":"176","author":"KN Colby","year":"2011","unstructured":"Colby KN, Levy JK, Dunn KF, Michaud RI. Diagnostic, treatment, and prevention protocols for canine heartworm infection in animal sheltering agencies. Vet Parasitol. 2011;176:333\u201341.","journal-title":"Vet Parasitol"}],"container-title":["Parasites &amp; Vectors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s13071-026-07266-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s13071-026-07266-8","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s13071-026-07266-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T09:18:03Z","timestamp":1787217483000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1186\/s13071-026-07266-8"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"references-count":16,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,12]]}},"alternative-id":["7266"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s13071-026-07266-8","relation":{},"ISSN":["1756-3305"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1756-3305","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"assertion":[{"value":"26 October 2025","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"13 January 2026","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"20 August 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Consent for publication","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"349"}}