Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How CT scans compare to surgery findings in dogs and cats
By Brložnik, Maja et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·Clinical Department for Small Animals and Horses·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Comparison of thoracic computed tomography and surgical reports in dogs and cats.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 41 dogs and 23 cats underwent thoracic surgery, and researchers compared the results from their CT scans to what the surgeons found during the operations. They found that in most cases (86%), the CT scans matched the surgical findings, but some issues, like small bullae (air-filled sacs) and foreign bodies, were missed in a few pets. Overall, 52 of the 64 pets were discharged after surgery, while 12 did not survive. This study highlights that while CT scans are helpful, they can sometimes miss small or tricky problems that need to be addressed during surgery.
People also search for: dog thoracic surgery outcomes · cat CT scan accuracy · why did my pet die after surgery
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This retrospective study compared computed tomography (CT) and surgical reports in 41 dogs and 23 cats undergoing thoracic surgery (50 thoracotomies, 14 thoracoscopies). OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the agreement between imaging and surgical findings in dogs and cats undergoing thoracic surgery and to access sensitivity of imaging for major surgical finding. METHODS: Patients were included if they had an in-house CT study performed within 8 days prior to surgery, had a finalized CT report available before surgery, and if the corresponding surgical report was sufficiently detailed to allow meaningful comparison with CT findings. Imaging and surgical findings were extracted and categorized as complete agreement, partial agreement (regarding type, number, or site of lesion), no agreement, or equivocal. Short-term outcome (discharged or deceased) was recorded. RESULTS: Agreement between primary imaging and surgical findings was achieved in 55 of 64 patients (86%): 33 dogs (33/41; 80%) and 22 cats (22/23; 96%). No agreement was found in 6 of 64 patients (9%): bullae were not detected in 3 dogs and 1 cat, a foreign body was missed in 1 dog, and pericarditis was missed in 1 dog. Partial agreement was found in one patient with several bullae (2%). Based on the available data, 2 of 64 patients could not be classified (3%). Surgical reports documented that the most common lesions were pleural effusion (12 dogs, 15 cats) and pulmonary mass/nodule (14 dogs, 5 cats). Fifty-two patients were discharged, while twelve (12/64; 19%) died before discharge (six patients died and six were euthanized). Significant association between categories of pathology and agreement was observed ( < 0.001). The categories of pathology with the highest number of cases (lung mass ( = 19) and pleural effusion ( = 27)) showed only complete agreement between primary imaging and surgical findings. Differences in agreement were associated with perception ( = 4), cognitive error ( = 2) and discrepancy ( = 1). CONCLUSION: Small and camouflaged pathologies, such as low-contrast foreign bodies and ruptured bullae in the atelectatic lung, were most frequently missed or wrongly interpreted in CT reports.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40761842/