Correlation of ultrasonographic findings with surgical, portographic, and necropsy findings in dogs and cats with portosystemic shunts: 63 cases (1987-1993).

Results of abdominal ultrasonography in 63 dogs and cats with suspected congenital portosystemic shunts (PSS) were compared with surgical, portographic, and necropsy findings. True-positive ultrasonographic results were found in 33 animals, and 2 animals had false-positive results for detection of single extrahepatic PSS. In 4 animals, results were true negative and in 8 animals, were false-negative for detection of extrahepatic PSS. The false-negative rate decreased substantially with operator experience. The sensitivity of ultrasonography for detection of extrahepatic PSS in these animals was 80.5%, and the specificity was 66.7%. In 5 other animals, ultrasonographic examination was strongly suggestive of the existence of a shunt, but the vessel could not be definitively imaged. All 5 animals had single extrahepatic shunts. Eleven animals had true-positive results for detection of intrahepatic PSS. One animal had false-positive ultrasonographic results for intrahepatic PSS, but an extrahepatic shunt was diagnosed at surgery. The sensitivity of ultrasonography for detection of intrahepatic PSS was 100%.

Ultrasonography of the adrenal gland.

A current review of ultrasonographic adrenal imaging is presented with emphasis on the clinical and problematic aspects of adrenal disease in the dog. Examples are presented to illustrate the usefulness of ultrasonography in distinguishing between canine pituitary- and adrenal-dependent hyperadrenocorticism. Adrenal imaging in the cat and ferret are discussed briefly. When coordination of sonographic findings with clinical and biochemical results is implemented properly, ultrasonography becomes a powerful and specific diagnostic tool for adrenal disease.

Hypertrophic osteopathy in a pony with a pituitary adenoma.

Hypertrophic osteopathy was diagnosed in a pony that had no antemortem or postmortem evidence of an intrathoracic lesion. With a history of hirsutism in an aged pony, a pituitary adenoma was suspected, and evaluation of plasma cortisol and insulin values and their response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone supported the diagnosis.

Coagulation abnormalities associated with acute Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in dogs.

Ten dogs were experimentally infected with 150 3rd-stage larvae of the lungworm Angiostrongylus vasorum (Baillet, 1866). Blood samples obtained once a week for 5 weeks after infection was induced were examined for coagulation alterations. Thrombocytopenia developed in infected dogs before and after parasitic patency, which occurred 6 weeks after infection was induced. Prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin time and thrombocytopenia initially were associated with periods of larval migration and, later, at patency, with pulmonary egg embolism and hatching of 1st-stage larvae in the lung. Decreased factor-V activity, significantly shortened values for the prothrombin time, and increased factor-VIII activity were evident during postpatent periods of parasitic infection. Significant changes were not found in factors-XII and -IX activities throughout the course of infection. Coagulation abnormalities were attributed to excessive intravascular coagulation. Immature adults and first stages of the parasite seemed to have initiated the coagulopathy in the prepatent phase of infection, with subsequent coagulation abnormalities occurring at the time of patency.

Comparison of carbonated lidocaine and lidocaine hydrochloride for caudal epidural anesthesia in horses.

A double-blind comparison of carbonated lidocaine and lidocaine hydrochloride in caudal epidural anesthesia was performed in 8 horses. Among 5 horses with successfully paired bilateral caudal epidural blockades, no significant differences in onset time, duration, or sensory blockade were demonstrated. In the present study, carbonated lidocaine did not offer an advantage over the hydrochloride salt for caudal epidural anesthesia in the horse.