Use of recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator for aortic thrombolysis in a hypoproteinemic dog.

A 5.25-year-old male Yorkshire Terrier was evaluated for suspected thrombosis of the distal portion of the aorta following protein-losing enteropathy. Hind limb paralysis was evident, extremities were hypothermic, and femoral pulses were not palpable. A thrombus was found in the distal portion of the aorta using Doppler ultrasonography. Enteropathy-induced loss of albumin and antithrombin III was the suspected cause of hypercoagulability in this dog. Alteplase, a recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator, was used to recanalize the distal portion of the aorta without inducing clinically evident systemic fibrinogenolysis. Alteplase is a fibrin-specific activator of plasminogen and may be safer and more efficacious than conventional streptokinase treatment. Current information on use in thromboembolic disease in human beings suggests that administration of alteplase as a bolus leads to earlier arterial patency and reduced risk of hemorrhage.