Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How kidney disease affects ultrasound results in dogs and cats
By Zotti, Alessandro et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2015·Department of Animal Medicine, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Correlation of renal histopathology with renal echogenicity in dogs and cats: an ex-vivo quantitative study.
Plain-English summary
This study looked at how the appearance of kidney tissue under ultrasound relates to actual kidney damage in dogs and cats. Researchers examined kidney samples from 68 dogs and 32 cats that had passed away, measuring the brightness of the kidney tissue on ultrasound and then comparing it to the tissue's microscopic structure. They found that in dogs, a specific type of kidney damage called glomerulosclerosis was linked to changes in ultrasound brightness, while in cats, other types of damage like interstitial nephritis (inflammation of the kidney tissue) were more relevant. Overall, the ultrasound test was not very reliable for detecting kidney problems in dogs but showed better results in cats. The findings suggest that while ultrasound can provide some information, it is not a definitive test for kidney disease in either species.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Increased cortical or cortical and medullary echogenicity is one of the most common signs of chronic or acute kidney disease in dogs and cats. Subjective evaluation of the echogenicity is reported to be unreliable. Patient and technical-related factors affect in-vivo quantitative evaluation of the echogenicity of parenchymal organs. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between histopathology and ex-vivo renal cortical echogenicity in dogs and cats devoid of any patient and technical-related biases. RESULTS: Kidney samples were collected from 68 dog and 32 cat cadavers donated by the owners to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Padua and standardized ultrasonographic images of each sample were collected. The echogenicity of the renal cortex was quantitatively assessed by means of mean gray value (MGV), and then histopathological analysis was performed. Statistical analysis to evaluate the influence of histological lesions on MGV was performed. The differentiation efficiency of MGV to detect pathological changes in the kidneys was calculated for dogs and cats. Statistical analysis revealed that only glomerulosclerosis was an independent determinant of echogenicity in dogs whereas interstitial nephritis, interstitial necrosis and fibrosis were independent determinants of echogenicity in cats. The global influence of histological lesions on renal echogenicity was higher in cats (23%) than in dogs (12%). CONCLUSIONS: Different histopathological lesions influence the echogenicity of the kidneys in dogs and cats. Moreover, MGV is a poor test for distinguishing between normal and pathological kidneys in the dog with a sensitivity of 58.3% and specificity of 59.8%. Instead, it seems to perform globally better in the cat, resulting in a fair test, with a sensitivity of 80.6% and a specificity of 56%.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25909709/