Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Nodules and masses on CT link to cancerous pleural fluid in dogs
By Reetz, Jennifer A et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2019·Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Nodules and masses are associated with malignant pleural effusion in dogs and cats but many other intrathoracic CT features are poor predictors of the effusion type.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at dogs and cats with fluid buildup in their chest (pleural effusion) to see if certain features on CT scans could help determine the cause. They found that older pets and those with specific nodules or masses in the chest were more likely to have malignant (cancerous) effusions. However, many signs were similar across different types of effusions, so additional tests are still needed for a clear diagnosis. This means that if your pet has pleural effusion, your vet may recommend further testing to find the exact cause and the best treatment.
People also search for: dog pleural effusion causes · cat chest fluid treatment · signs of cancer in dogs · dog CT scan results · why is my cat coughing and lethargic
Abstract
Thoracic CT may be used in the workup of patients with pleural effusion. In humans, certain pleural features on CT aid in diagnosing an underlying cause for pleural effusion, whereas this is not well studied in veterinary medicine. This retrospective cross-sectional analytical study assessed pleural and other intrathoracic abnormalities on CT in dogs and cats with pleural effusion and explored potential discriminatory features between effusion types. Eighty-nine dogs and 32 cats with pleural cytology and/or histopathology were categorized into malignant pleural disease (15 dogs and 11 cats), pyothorax (34 dogs and 7 cats), chylothorax (20 dogs and 11 cats), transudative (11 dogs and 2 cats), and hemorrhagic effusion (9 dogs and 1 cat). Multivariable logistic regression analysis comparing malignancy to other effusions found that older patient age (dogs: odds ratio 1.28, P = 0.015; cats: odds ratio 1.53, P = 0.005), nodular diaphragmatic pleural thickening (dogs: odds ratio 7.64, P = 0.021; cats: odds ratio 13.67, P = 0.031), costal pleural masses (dogs: odds ratio 21.50, P = 0.018; cats: odds ratio 32.74, P = 0.019), and pulmonary masses (dogs: odds ratio 44.67, P = 0.002; cats: odds ratio 18.26, P = 0.077) were associated with malignancy. In dogs, any costal pleural abnormality (odds ratio 47.55, P = 0.002) and pulmonary masses (odds ratio 10.05, P = 0.004) were associated with malignancy/pyothorax, whereas any costal pleural abnormality (odds ratio 0.14, P = 0.006) and sternal lymphadenopathy (odds ratio 0.22, P = 0.040) were inversely associated with transudates. There were, however, many overlapping abnormalities between effusion types, so further diagnostic testing remains important for diagnosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30557908/