Search

Feline hyperthyroidism is potentially associated with exaggerated responsiveness of the adrenal gland cortex. The adrenal glands of 23 hyperthyroid cats were examined ultrasonographically and compared to the adrenal glands of 30 control cats. Ten hyperthyroid cats had received antithyroid drugs until 2 weeks before sonography, the other 13 were untreated. There was no difference in adrenal gland shape between healthy and hyperthyroid cats: bean-shaped, well-defined, hypoechoic structures surrounded by a hyperechoic halo in 43/60 (71.6%) healthy cats and 34/46 (73.9%) hyperthyroid cats; more ovoid in 13/60 (21.6%) healthy cats and 9/46 (19.6%) hyperthyroid cats while more elongated in 4/60 (6.7%) healthy cats, 3/46 (6.5%) hyperthyroid cats. Hyperechoic foci were present in 9/23 (39.1%) hyperthyroid cats and 2/30 (6.7%) healthy cats. The adrenal glands were significantly larger in hyperthyroid cats, although there was overlap in size range. The mean difference between hyperthyroid cats and healthy cats was 1.6 and 1.7 mm in left and right adrenal gland length, 0.8 and 0.9 mm in left and right cranial adrenal gland height, and 0.4 and 0.9 mm in left and right caudal adrenal gland height. There was no significant difference between the adrenal gland measurements in treated and untreated hyperthyroid cats. The adrenomegaly was most likely associated with the hypersecretion of the adrenal cortex documented in hyperthyroid cats. Hyperthyroidism should be an alternative to hyperadrenocorticism, hyperaldosteronism, and acromegaly in cats with bilateral moderate adrenomegaly.

Our aim was to evaluate the influence of glucocorticoids on the adrenal gland using ultrasonography. Eleven healthy beagles were used in a prospective placebo-controlled study. All dogs received hydrocortisone at 10 mg/kg twice a day per os for 4 months or a gelatin capsule twice a day per os as a placebo. Clinical and endocrinologic examination of the dogs and ultrasonographic evaluation of adrenal echogenicity, shape, and measurement of the length and height of the cranial and caudal pole were performed at baseline (TO), at 1 (T1) and 4 months (T4) after the beginning of treatment, and 2 months after the end of the treatment including 1 month of tapering and 1 month without treatment (T6). The dogs were assigned randomly to the glucocorticoid (n = 6) and placebo groups (n = 5). At T1, the difference between the two groups for the height of the cranial and caudal pole was not ultrasonographically remarkable despite a statistically significant difference (P = 0.0165 and P = 0.0206). Decreased height and length of entire gland were observed at T4 (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0015, and P = 0.0035, respectively). Percentages of atrophy were variable between dogs. Both adrenal glands regained normal size and shape 1 month after cessation of glucocorticoid administration. As not all dogs developed marked adrenal gland atrophy and the degree of atrophy varied widely between individuals, ultrasonography cannot be the technique of choice to detect iatrogenic hypercortisolism. Ultrasonographic changes are reversible within 1 month after the end of glucocorticoid administration.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous renal biopsy may be associated with complications, especially when using larger needles. Contrast harmonic ultrasound increases blood pool echo intensity, enhancing parenchymal lesions. Therefore, contrast harmonic ultrasound is a potential alternative screening method for postbiopsy renal lesions. Renal biopsies were performed using 14 G needles in 11 healthy Beagles, at three occasions: 0 ("Baseline Biopsy"; BB), 4 ("Biopsy 2"; B2), and 6 months ("Biopsy 3"; B3). Ultrasound and contrast harmonic ultrasound of biopsied kidneys were performed approximately 30 min after biopsy (week 0) at BB and B2, and repeated once every week (weeks 1-3) until normal appearance. At B3, only contrast harmonic ultrasound was performed, both immediately and 30-min postbiopsy. Contrast harmonic ultrasound images were reviewed using subjective and semiquantitative methods to describe lesions including number, shape, size, sharpness, echogenicity, and evolution. More renal lesions were detected with contrast harmonic ultrasound (22/22) compared with conventional ultrasound (14/22). The majority appeared at week 0 as hypoechoic tract(s) (27/33), the other (6/ 33) as ill-defined areas or area/tract combination, all having variable size, shape, and echogenicity. Seven tracts had a small subcapsular hematoma. In most kidneys, similar or gradual decrease of size and sharpness, and increased echogenicity was observed until normal appearance occurred at week 1 (1/22), week 2 (18/22), or week 3 (22/22). Two Beagles developed complications. At B3, immediately postbiopsy, tracts were hyperechoic in 9/11 kidneys, becoming hypoechoic again 30 min later. Contrast harmonic ultrasound is a valuable method to evaluate postbiopsy renal lesions in dogs.

The aim of the present study was to establish which adrenal gland measurement was characterized by the least variations. To do this, we quantified the variability of seven different size measurements of the canine adrenal gland (maximal length, maximal height at the cranial and caudal poles on longitudinal and transverse images, and maximal width of the cranial and caudal poles) within observer, between observer, and between dogs based on three different measurements made by each of the three observers in six healthy Beagle dogs. The height of the caudal pole of both adrenal glands measured on longitudinal images had the lowest intra- and interobserver variability, while measurements of the length had the highest intra- and interobserver variability. Other measurements that were characterized by low intra- and interobserver variability were: height and width of the caudal pole on transverse images and height of the cranial pole on longitudinal images only. These results provide a basis for further study of the changes in adrenal gland size in dogs with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism.

To describe the contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic appearance of various focal, space-occupying renal lesions and determine its value in their detection and characterization. Following baseline B-mode sonography of 15 dogs and one cat with renal space-occupying lesion(s), contrast-enhanced sonography was performed. The resulting images were evaluated qualitatively using conspicuity and number of lesions, and enhancement patterns were assessed during early arterial and late corticomedullary phases. Renal lesions were malignant in the cat (renal cell carcinoma) and 10 dogs (four renal cell carcinoma, two histiocytic sarcoma, one B-cell lymphoma, two hemangiosarcoma metastasis, one ch emodectoma metastasis) and benign in five dogs (two abscesses, one traumatic hematoma, one idiopathic hematoma, one hemorrhagic/necrotic nodule). Substantial overlap was present regarding the baseline sonographic features of benign vs. malignant lesions. With contrast-enhanced sonography, all renal cell carcinomas were characterized by large tortuous arteries, sometimes enhancing slightly earlier than vessels in the surrounding normal kidney. During the late corticomedullary phase, renal cell carcinomas had intense homo- or heterogeneous, iso- or slightly hypoechoic enhancement, which decreased progressively. Compared with renal cell carcinoma, histiocytic sarcoma and lymphoma had smaller and less obvious arteries, and an earlier loss of enhancement during the late phase. All hemangiosarcoma metastases appeared as nonenhancing nodules during the early arterial and late corticomedullary phases of enhancement, and additional lesions were detected. Histiocytic sarcoma and benign lesions had increased conspicuity with baseline sonography. The descriptions provided herein will be valuable as more work is done to establish the role of contrast-enhanced sonography in the assessment of renal lesions.

In humans, administration of recombinant human thyroid stimulating hormone (rhTSH) allows radioactive iodine dose reduction and higher efficacy in the treatment of multinodular goiter and thyroid cancer. A similar effect might be expected in dogs with thyroid carcinoma. However, if rhTSH leads to an increase in thyroid volume, it must be used carefully in dogs with large thyroid tumors to avoid compression of key anatomical structures. The aim of this study was to determine the short-term effect of rhTSH on thyroid volume and echogenicity, measured by ultrasonography, in healthy Beagles. Seven beagles were divided randomly in two groups in a prospective placebo-controlled blinded cross-over study. On day 1, one group received 100 microg of rhTSH intravenously and the other group received placebo. After a wash-out period of 3 weeks, the groups were crossed over. Evaluation of thyroid echogenicity, homogeneity, shape, capsule delineation, and measurement of thyroid length, width, and height were performed by the same observer at baseline, and at 6, 24, and 48h after injection of rhTSH and placebo. There was no significant difference between the effect of rhTSH and placebo on thyroid volume (P = 0.397), echogenicity, homogeneity, or capsule delineation. Time had a significant effect on thyroid volume (P = 0.027). No adverse effects after rhTSH administration were noticed. The effect of rhTSH on thyroid volume in dogs with thyroid carcinoma needs to be assessed.

Ultrasonography is useful for assessing the morphology of the thyroid gland in hyperthyroid cats. Our aim was to describe the ultrasonographic changes of the thyroid gland in hyperthyroid cats after 131I therapy. Ultrasonography was performed in 15 hyperthyroid cats at initial presentation and 6 months after 131I using a multifrequency linear transducer set at 12 MHz. The following criteria were evaluated: length, width, height, volume, shape, homogeneity, and vascularity, using Power Doppler. Pretreatment, 10 cats had bilaterally abnormal thyroid lobes, four cats one abnormal lobe with the contralateral lobe being normal or reduced in size, and one cat with one normal lobe and one lobe not visible. Six months after 131I therapy, there was a reduction in median volume from 819 to 210 mm3, reduced rounding, reduced heterogeneity, and decreased vascularity. In conclusion, ultrasonography may be used to monitor thyroid changes in order to assess 131I treatment response. Further studies are necessary to determine whether ultrasonography could contribute to the detection of a relapsing course of hyperthyroidism.

Lymph nodes are essential structures to be evaluated in an ultrasonographic examination of the feline abdomen. It was hypothesized that current technical proficiency would allow all feline abdominal lymph nodes to be identified ultrasonographically. Ten clinically normal, adult, domestic shorthair cats were examined using real-time compound ultrasonographic imaging. The medial iliac lymph nodes were visible in 100% of the cats, the jejunal lymph nodes in 90%, the hepatic lymph nodes in 70%, the aortic lumbar, the splenic, and the pancreaticoduodenal lymph nodes in 60% each, the ileocecal and the colic lymph nodes in 50% each, and the renal, the gastric, the sacral and the caudal mesenteric lymph nodes in 40%, 30%, 20%, and 10% of the cats, respectively. The inconsistent presence of lymph nodes, their poor echocontrast and interposed gas of the gastrointestinal tract explain the lower percentages of identification. The ultrasonographic length and diameter of the lymph nodes were determined. The majority of these measurements corresponded to those in the literature. We conclude that ultrasonography is a valuable tool for the identification and evaluation of most abdominal lymph nodes in the normal cat. Average ultrasonographic measurements are presented as a preliminary guideline for normal feline abdominal lymph nodes. ete

Primary hypothyroidism is a frequent endocrine disorder in the adult dog. However, false-positive diagnoses are common because of the relatively low accuracy of most commonly used biochemical tests. The purpose of this study was to describe the ultrasonographic features of the thyroid gland in hypothyroid dogs, to calculate the diagnostic sensitivity of gray-scale ultrasound using a combination of clinical symptoms and biochemical thyroid tests as gold standard, and to investigate the evolution of the ultrasonographic features after treatment of hypothyroidism. Eighteen dogs were studied prospectively. All dogs underwent an ultrasound examination at first presentation and 13 underwent one or two additional ultrasound examinations over time. At first presentation, a sensitivity of 76.5% (95% CI [50.0-93.0% 1) for decreased echogenicity, 64.7% (95% CI [38.385.8% 1) for inhomogeneity, 70.6% (95% CI 144.0-89.7%]) for irregular capsule delineation, 64.7% (95% CI [38.3-85.8%]) for abnormal lobe shape and 47.1% (95% CI 123.0-72.2%]) for decreased relative thyroid volume was obtained. Combining these five parameters together resulted in an overall sensitivity of 94.1% (95% CI [71.3-99.9%]) for gray-scale ultrasound in the detection of acquired hypothyroidism at first presentation. A continuous decrease of thyroid volume was seen over time after treatment, while the other investigated parameters did not change significantly during the follow-up period. None of the thyroid glands were considered normal at the last presentation. Grayscale ultrasound is a sensitive and quick test for the diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism in dogs.