Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Intestinal contrast leakage on delayed CT in dogs with protein loss
By Lee, Yujin et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2025·College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Intestinal Vicarious Contrast Medium Excretion on Delayed Computed Tomography in Dogs with Protein-Losing Enteropathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), which can cause symptoms like weight loss and diarrhea, underwent a special type of imaging called delayed CT. Out of six dogs diagnosed with PLE, five showed signs of intestinal vicarious contrast medium excretion (VCME), which means the contrast used in the scan was seen in unusual areas of the intestines. This finding was not present in the 24 dogs without PLE. The study suggests that detecting VCME on delayed CT can help veterinarians identify PLE noninvasively before needing more invasive tests.
People also search for: dog weight loss diarrhea · protein-losing enteropathy in dogs · delayed CT scan for dogs
Abstract
The intestinal vicarious contrast medium excretion (VCME) can occur in dogs with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), and studies for intestinal VCME in dogs are lacking. This retrospective case-control study aimed to assess whether intestinal VCME could be observed on delayed CT in dogs with and without PLE. Thirty dogs who underwent abdominal delayed CT in the 10 min-delayed phase following the injection of contrast medium were enrolled. Six dogs were classified into the group with enteropathy based on imaging findings or abnormal results from cytology or histology. The six dogs had concurrent hypoalbuminemia and were diagnosed with presumed PLE. Five of the six dogs in the group with enteropathy had intestinal VCME. In the 24 dogs of the group without enteropathy, intestinal VCME was not detected on delayed CT, and VCME to the cisterna chyli was observed in one dog. The frequency of intestinal VCME was significantly higher in the group with enteropathy than in the group without enteropathy (p < .001). The presence of intestinal VCME on the delayed CT can be observed in dogs with PLE, and it can be used as noninvasive additional supportive evidence of canine PLE prior to histopathologic evaluation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40342178/