This is a very niche observation but something that I’ve not seen described elsewhere. In cats without any evidence of gastrointestinal disease there is often an asymmetrical thickening of the small intestinal mucosa at the jejuno-ileal junction. This is located between 1.5 – 4.0cm proximal to the ileo-caeco-colic junction. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20123064781 Before I realised that this … Continue reading
It’s been a while since my erstwhile mentor Dr Bob O’Brien published this nice article: Vet Radiol Ultrasound Jul-Aug 1998;39(4):354-6Urinary bladder mural hemorrhage associated with systemic bleeding disorders in three dogsR T O’Brien, E F Wood https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9710141/ …and ultrasound technology has moved on a bit in the meantime. This is a recent case of the … Continue reading
Ultrasound elastography, or elastosonography, is increasingly available on high-end ultrasound machines;. At the most basic level USE gives an indication of tissue stiffness. This may be either in response to mechanical pressure (strain imaging) or to ultrasound-generated compression (shear wave elastography). Mechanical pressure in strain imaging is exerted externally (manually) or by internal changes due … Continue reading
The patient here is a 3 y.o. FN mini Schnauzer with bilateral ureteral calculi and plasma urea >40 mmol/L, creatinine 500umol/L. This patient very likely had pyelonephritis (UTI is present in something like 80% of dogs with ureteral calculi…much more so than in cats) although she lacked signs of sepsis. The interesting thing is … Continue reading
I am starting to think that examination of the neck might be a useful part of the routine sonographic examination for cats and dogs: especially in complex cases. In addition to those with sepsis, foreign bodies, thyroid disease, lymphadenopathy or salivary gland changes, patients with impaired oesophageal function are sometimes picked up. Some animals with … Continue reading
Sand impaction has been described in a small number of dogs: J Small Anim Pract. 2010 Jan;51(1):29-33Sand impaction of the small intestine in eight dogs.Moles AD1, McGhite A, Schaaf OR, Read R. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20137006 In all of those dogs, impaction in the ileum proximal to the ileo-caeco-colic junction was documented and thought to be the principal … Continue reading
I guess we know that hypoadrenocorticism (both ‘typical’ and ‘atypical’) is associated with gastrointestinal signs including ulceration. I’ve not managed to find a completely convincing pathophysiological explanation of the mechanism for this. However, I just wanted to share a couple of sonographic images of the stomach wall in addisonian dogs. They can be really striking. … Continue reading
Gabepentin is an enormously useful drug to facilitate ultrasonography in cats. I’m sure most of you are aware of this by now but it’s worth publicising a little more because, to get best effect, the use of gabapentin needs to be planned in advance of the day of scanning. J Am Vet Med Assoc. … Continue reading
In human medicine concepts in sepsis have evolved. SIRS: In 2016, a new consensus termed Sepsis-3 removed the concept of SIRS from the sepsis definition and replaced it with the SOFA (Sequential [Sepsis-Related] Organ Failure Assessment) score. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA. 2016; 315(8):801-10 (ISSN: 1538-3598) Singer M; … Continue reading
Almost the most frequent presenting problem we see in our sonography practice is canine acute abdomen. And perhaps, more specifically, acute vomiting which fails to resolve within a couple of days supportive care. The bottom line for these is ‘does this dog need surgery or will it resolve with supportive care’. If you can see … Continue reading
