Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using strain elastography to check skin lumps in dogs
By Brizzi, Giulia et al.·Published in Veterinary Dermatology·2021·AniCura Istituto Veterinario Novara Strada Provinciale 9 Granozzo con Monticello NO 28060 Italy, Italy·View original on Crossref →
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Original publication title: Strain elastography for the assessment of skin nodules in dogs
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 51 dogs with skin nodules were evaluated using a new imaging technique called strain elastography (SE) to see if it could help distinguish between different types of nodules, like tumors and inflammation. The study found that SE was particularly useful for identifying mast cell tumors and benign follicular tumors, but it didn't show significant differences for all types of nodules. While SE can provide additional information, it is still important to use traditional methods like cytology (examining cells) and histology (examining tissue) for a complete diagnosis. More research is needed to fully understand how SE can be used in veterinary medicine.
People also search for: dog skin nodules treatment · mast cell tumor in dogs · strain elastography for dog tumors
Abstract
BackgroundStrain elastography (SE) is a modern imaging technology that provides an additional way of evaluating the changes in soft tissue elasticity caused by pathophysiological processes. Despite its widespread use in human medicine, only a few studies on the application of SE in veterinary medicine are available.ObjectivesTo evaluate the potential usefulness of SE as an integrative imaging model in the standard ultrasound technique to better discriminate between inflammatory and neoplastic skin nodules in dogs.AnimalsFifty‐one client‐owned dogs with clinical evidence of single or multiple skin nodules detected during routine dermatological examination.Methods and materialsMargins, echogenicity, echo‐structure, calcification and vascularisation of 65 skin nodules were assessed with ultrasound, and SE was used to score qualitative (E‐score, E‐index, E2) and semiquantitative (SR) parameters. A comparison of diagnostic yields with cytological and histological findings as the gold standard was performed.ResultsMast cell and benign follicular tumours showed the highest E‐scores and SRs among neoplastic nodules; statistically significant differences were not detected. Calcific and nonvascularised nodules showed significantly higher E‐index values than the others. Overall, a negative correlation was observed between the longitudinal diameter of skin nodules and the qualitative elastic parameters.Conclusions and clinical importanceIn this study, SE proved to be useful to identify only a subset of nodules such as mast cells and hair follicular tumours. Although evidence supporting the use of SE in evaluating skin nodules was demonstrated to below, indicators to guide further research were developed.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1111/vde.12954