Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is a clinical syndrome caused by systemic inflammation of infectious or non-infectious origin. SIRS is characterized by an endogenous cascade of interleukins and other inflammatory mediators such as TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1 which are responsible for myocardial depression during systemic inflammation. Conventional echocardiographic indices of left ventricular systolic function such as fractional shortening (FS) and ejection fraction (EF) are not sensitive enough to detect mild or early systolic dysfunction in dogs suffering from SIRS. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) is a new echocardiographic technique that allows an objective and quantitative evaluation of global and regional myocardial function through the analysis of the motion of speckles that are created by the interaction of ultrasonic beams and the myocardium during the 2-dimensional examination. We tested the hypothesis that 2D-STE may detect left ventricular systolic dysfunction, not diagnosed by conventional echocardiography, in dogs with SIRS. Seventeen dogs with evidence of SIRS and 17 healthy dogs as a control group were included in this prospective study. All the procedures were performed for diagnostic purpose; the control group was composed of healthy dogs undergoing surgical castration or ovariohysterectomy. We excluded from the study breeds predisposed to dilated cardiomyopathy, pregnant females, dogs treated with opioids, sedatives, or anaesthetic drugs during the 12 hours before echocardiography. We also excluded dogs with previous diagnosis of, or echocardiographic evidence of congenital or acquired cardiac disease and dogs with an arrhythmia. At the time of hospital admission each dog was submitted to standard 2D, M-mode, Doppler, and 2D-STE with simultaneous ECG and blood pressure measurement. Furthermore, blood samples were obtained for CBC, biochemical profile, and the measurements of cTnI and CRP serum levels. The results showed that the standard echocardiographic indices of systolic function such as EF, FS were not significantly different between the two groups. On the contrary, the left ventricular global longitudinal peak strain of endomyocardial layer and the STE-derived ejection fraction (STE-EF) were significantly lower in the SIRS group than in the control group. We did not find significant correlation between CRP serum levels and 2D-STE variables and between cTnI and STE variables. Furthermore, we did not find a significant difference in cTnI serum levels between the two groups. Our study demonstrated that 2D-STE was more sensitive than standard echocardiography in detecting early or mild to moderate myocardial dysfunction, not detected by conventional echocardiography, in a population of dogs with SIRS.

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