There is no data on the effect of maximum and minimum doses of furosemide on heart's work performance and amount of fractional shortening (FS) in echocardiography of rabbit. This study was designed to validate probability of the mentionable effect. Twenty-four healthy female New Zealand white rabbits were divided into four equal groups. Maximum and minimum doses of furosemide were used for the first and second groups and the injection solution for the third and fourth groups was sodium chloride 0.9% which had the same calculated volumes of furosemide for the first two groups, respectively. The left ventricle FS in statutory times (0, 2, 5, 15, 30 minutes) was determined by echocardiography. Measurements of Mean±SD, maximum and minimum amounts for FS values in all groups before injection and in statutory times were calculated. Statistical analysis revealed non-significant correlation between the means of FS. The results of this study showed that furosemide can be used as a diuretic agent for preparing a window approach in abdominal ultrasonography examination with no harmful effect on cardiac function.

Key words: Echocardiography, Fractional shortening, Rabbit