Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Anal sac stones often found by chance in dogs on CT scans
By Heng, Hock Gan et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2021·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Anal sacculiths may be an incidental finding in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs was found to have mineral-like material in their anal sacs during CT scans, but none showed any signs of anal sac disease. This material, referred to as "anal sacculiths," was mostly dried blood and waxy matter. Interestingly, about 7.6% of the dogs had this finding, but it was often incidental and not linked to any health issues. The study suggests that while these anal sacculiths can be seen on imaging, they may not require treatment or indicate a problem.
People also search for: dog anal sac problems · what are anal sacculiths in dogs · dog CT scan findings · dog anal sac disease symptoms
Abstract
Mineral-attenuating material is occasionally seen in the anal sacs of dogs during abdominal CT studies. This retrospective, descriptive study was performed to estimate the prevalence and CT appearance of this mineral-attenuating material. A total of 357 abdominal CTs were reviewed retrospectively. The mineral-attenuating material was most easily identifiable using the brain window setting (window width: 120 HU; window level: 40 HU). In the current study, the prevalence of mineral-attenuating material in the anal sacs was 7.6% (95% confidence interval, 5.0-10.8%) with 48.1% bilateral involvement and equal distribution in the right and left in dogs with unilateral involvement. Successful collection and material analysis were performed in three dogs. The material was determined to be 100% dried blood, 100% waxy matter, and a "small amount of fat enmeshed in unidentified noncrystallined material." Given the CT appearance and the Hounsfield unit of these mineral-attenuating material within the anal sacs, the term "anal sacculiths" is proposed. All dogs with anal sacculiths within this study population did not have any reported disease of the anal sacs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33236812/