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
This is a nice article from a few years back: BMJ. 2014 May 29;348:g3463. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g3463. Will ultrasound scanners replace the stethoscope? Wittenberg M. https://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g3463 The crux of it being that human medics are finding more and more advantages of using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) more as part of the physical examination, like a stethoscope, … Continue reading
There’s no point fighting against progress. Although this might reduce our sonography workload, I think it’s worth publicising this new urine test for canine bladder/urethra/prostate cancer (TCC or PC) because it looks like a real step forward. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0144170 There is a recent review of practical application of the test here: http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/urine-luck-new-test-canine-bladder-and-prostate-cancer?pageID=2 … Continue reading
My understanding is that sonography is increasingly used in human medicines to guide interventions such as vascular access. This is a critical care case for which we were asked to perform thoracic and abdominal sonography. However, the most immediate problem turned out to be sepsis stemming from the jugular vein central line. &nbs… 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
I am starting to wonder if there’s a new infectious agent causing acute gastro-entero-colitis in dogs around here (northern England) recently. Firstly, there seems to be an upsurge in numbers of cases: especially those which take a week or more to recover. None of those which I’ve seen were markedly neutropaenic or tested positive on … 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
Sonographic heterogeneity of abdominal lymph nodes has been reported as a feature associated with malignancy in dogs: Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2007 Nov-Dec;48(6):565-9. Association between malignancy and sonographic heterogeneity in canine and feline abdominal lymph nodes. Kinns J1, Mai W. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18018731 In that series, 91% of dogs with heterogeneous abdominal nodes proved to have malignancies. … Continue reading
A while ago I wrote a post reporting cases of dogs with a history of pancreatitis who have multiple apparently cystic lesions within their hepatic and pancreatic lymph nodes. Cavitated hepatic lymph nodes associated with previous pancreatitis in dogs Obviously association is not necessarily causation. However, my impression is that the association is strong … Continue reading
