Treatment of portal vein thrombosis with rivaroxaban in an American cocker spaniel with chronic hepatitis: a case report

Anticoagulants are commonly used to treat venous thrombosis. Rivaroxaban, a direct factor Xa inhibitor, is widely used in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat thromboembolism. It has been used to manage portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in humans. As the incidence of PVT with chronic hepatitis (CH) is low in dogs, treatment methods have not been fully established. This case report describes the treatment of a 9-year-old male American cocker spaniel with CH and ascites, possibly due to concurrent PVT, using rivaroxaban. During treatment with rivaroxaban and diuretics, the patient showed improvement in portal hypertension, ascites, and edema. Herein, we report the first case of using rivaroxaban for the management of PVT with CH (treated with glucocorticoids) in a dog.