Traumatic dislocation of the lumbosacral joint in two cats.

The clinical and radiological features, surgical treatment, and outcome of two cats with traumatically induced dislocation of the lumbosacral joint are described in this report. The dislocation of the lumbosacral joint was concurrent with dorsal luxation of the articular facets in both cases. Open reduction, followed by stabilization with a dorsal suture sling, resulted in a good clinical outcome.

Radiographic examination and outcome in consecutive feline trauma patients.

Using univariate analysis, the correlation between signalment, history, outcome and radiographic diagnosis made on whole-body radiographs was investigated in 100 consecutive feline trauma patients of an urban clinic. The radiographic findings included: 53 thoracic injuries, 39 abdominal injuries, 34 pelvic injuries, 28 soft tissue injuries, 26 spinal injuries, and 19 cases with signs of hypovolemia. Only four radiographs were considered normal. Surgical intervention was carried out in 51 cases. Of the 100 cases, 73 survived, 23 were euthanatized, and four died. A significant positive correlation with euthanasia was found when compared to patient age (p=0.0059), abdominal trauma (P=0.0500), spinal fractures (P=0.0468), and soft tissue injuries (P=0.0175). A significant negative correlation with survival was found when compared to patient age (P=0.0358), abdominal trauma (P=0.0439), intraperitoneal free air (P=0.0041), and soft tissue injury (P=0.0288). The results of this study indicate that whole-body radiographs are useful in detecting injury in the thorax, abdomen, spine, pelvis and soft tissues, and are valuable in the diagnostic work-up of feline trauma patients.

Herniation of the urinary bladder through a congenitally enlarged inguinal canal in a cat.

A two-year-old, castrated male Main Coon cat was referred because of chronic, recurrent pollakiuria, haematuria, and acute vomiting. On clinical examination, a smooth, soft-tissue mass, suspected to be the urinary bladder, was palpable outside of the abdominal wall in the inguinal area. On radiographs, the urinary bladder was found to be extra-abdominal, and herniated through an enlarged right inguinal canal at exploratory coeliotomy. The left inguinal canal was also enlarged. The urinary bladder was repositioned and fixed to the caudal abdominal wall by incisional cystopexy and both enlarged inguinal canals were partially closed with an interrupted suture pattern.

Teleradiology in the emergency room.

Many emergency rooms do not offer full-time coverage by a radiologist. Teleradiology can enable a radiologist to offer services to a number of emergency rooms. This allows more timely interpretation of emergency room studies and improved patient care. In our clinical trial, we found several problem areas and developed ways to improve our diagnostic accuracy. Since the resolution of transmitted images is less than that of film, a review of the original films at some later time is needed.

Clinical trial of digital teleradiology in the practice of emergency room radiology.

The application of digital teleradiology (DTR) to radiologic examinations performed in the emergency room was evaluated. A total of 919 examinations (ten computed tomographic; the rest, radiographic) were transmitted to a radiology resident at another hospital emergency room. The 512 X 512 images were reviewed by an attending radiologist and compared with another attending radiologist's interpretation of the original films. Cases with discrepant interpretations were analyzed. Inadequate DTR image quality was responsible for clinically significant discrepancies in 14 of 897 cases (1.6%) available for follow up. Problem areas such as the detection of pneumothorax and abdominal calcifications were identified. Retransmission of optically zoomed images of areas of concern and repeat radiographs of overpenetrated films are suggested to improve DTR performance.