Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using focused ultrasound to find fluid in emergency dogs and cats
By McMurray, Jantina et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary emergency and critical care (San Antonio, Tex. : 2001)·2016·Department of Veterinary Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Focused assessment with sonography in nontraumatized dogs and cats in the emergency and critical care setting.
Plain-English summary
A group of 100 dogs and cats without any signs of trauma were evaluated in an emergency setting using ultrasound techniques called AFAST and TFAST to check for fluid in their bodies. The tests found that 33% of these pets had free fluid, which was much more common in those that were unstable or having breathing problems—75% of these pets showed fluid compared to only 9% of stable ones. This study suggests that these ultrasound methods can be very helpful for detecting issues in pets that are not injured but still need urgent care.
People also search for: dog emergency ultrasound · cat breathing problems ultrasound · signs of fluid in pets
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of abdominal- and thoracic-focused assessment with sonography for trauma (AFAST and TFAST) in nontraumatized dogs and cats in the emergency and critical care setting and to compare prevalence of free fluid identified via these techniques between stable and unstable patients. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: University Distributed Veterinary Learning Community. ANIMALS: One hundred client-owned dogs and cats presenting to an emergency service with no evidence of trauma. INTERVENTIONS: AFAST and TFAST performed within 12 hours of presentation. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: Free fluid was identified on AFAST or TFAST in 33% of dogs and cats in this study. Free fluid was identified in 27 of 36 (75%) cardiovascularly unstable or dyspneic patients, compared to 6 of 64 (9%) stable patients. A significantly greater proportion of unstable patients had free fluid compared to stable patients (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study support the use of AFAST and TFAST to detect free fluid in nontraumatized dogs and cats in the emergency and critical care setting, particularly patients that are unstable on presentation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26445109/