Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Noninvasive ultrasound test to check liver scarring in dogs
By Tamura, Masahiro et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2019·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Usefulness of noninvasive shear wave elastography for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis in dogs with hepatic disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with liver disease underwent a new noninvasive test called shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) to check for liver scarring (fibrosis). The results showed that dogs with significant liver fibrosis had higher shear wave velocities compared to healthy dogs and those with mild fibrosis. This suggests that 2D-SWE can help veterinarians identify dogs with more serious liver issues without needing invasive procedures. The test could be a valuable tool for monitoring liver health in dogs.
People also search for: dog liver disease symptoms · noninvasive liver test for dogs · how to treat liver fibrosis in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) can noninvasively evaluate hepatic elastic modulus as shear wave velocity (SWV). Additionally, it may predict the presence of clinical relevant hepatic fibrosis (≥F2) in dogs with hepatic disease. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether SWV measured by 2D-SWE can differentiate between dogs with (≥F2) and without (F0-1) clinically relevant hepatic fibrosis. ANIMALS: Twenty-eight client-owned dogs with hepatic disease and 8 normal healthy Beagle dogs were enrolled. METHODS: In this cross-sectional prospective study, SWVs were measured using 2D-SWE in all dogs. Hepatic fibrosis stages and necroinflammatory activity grades were histopathologically evaluated using a histological scoring scheme that was adapted from the Ishak schema used in human medicine. RESULTS: Median SWVs were significantly higher in dogs with clinically relevant hepatic fibrosis (2.04 m/s; range, 1.81-2.26 m/s) than in healthy dogs (1.51 m/s; range, 1.44-1.66 m/s; P = .007), and dogs without clinically relevant hepatic fibrosis (1.56 m/s; range, 1.37-1.67 m/s; P < .001). However, no significant difference was found in the SWVs between dogs without clinically relevant hepatic fibrosis and healthy dogs (P = .99). Furthermore, median SWVs were not significantly different among dogs with necroinflammatory activity, those without necroinflammatory activity, and healthy dogs (Kruskal-Wallis test, P = .12). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The 2D-SWE may be useful for predicting the presence of hepatic fibrosis in dogs with hepatic disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31461576/