Experimentally Induced Malignant Hypertension in Beagle Dogs

Abstract

The pathology of malignant hypertension in dogs induced either purposely or inadvertently by the Goldblatt procedure has not been previously reported. Malignant hypertension was experimentally produced in beagle dogs by a modified Goldblatt procedure; in a single surgical procedure, one kidney was removed and the blood flow to the remaining kidney was reduced by 50%. A sudden onset of severe clinical signs developed within one to three weeks after surgery. The dogs were markedly depressed or in shock, were vomiting, and had either bloody feces or bloody diarrhea. Hematologic changes compatible with a diagnosis of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia consisted of hemolysis, thrombocytopenia, and the presence of burr cells and schistocytes. Some dogs had neutrophilia and slight to moderate increases in blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. At necropsy, there were gross hemorrhages in the heart, brain, urinary bladder, and gastrointestinal tract. Histologic findings consisted of multifocal parenchymal hemorrhage, fibrinoid necrosis of arterioles, medial smooth muscle hyperplasia, adventitial fibroplasia and mononuclear cell infiltrates, and microthrombi. The vascular clamp most likely protected the kidney from the systemic hypertension since the remaining kidney was largely not remarkable by light or electron microscopy. The dog appears to be a good model to study the pathology of malignant hypertension and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia.

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