Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ultrasound helps quickly diagnose lung worm in young dogs
By Venco, L et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2021·Ospedale veterinario Città, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Utility of thoracic ultrasonography in a rapid diagnosis of angiostrongylosis in young dogs presenting with respiratory distress.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of young dogs under 2 years old was brought in for breathing problems, and they were suspected of having a lung infection caused by a parasite called Angiostrongylus vasorum. The veterinarians used a non-invasive test called thoracic ultrasonography (an ultrasound of the chest) to look for signs of this infection. They found small nodules in the lungs of 15 out of 26 dogs, and further tests confirmed that 14 of these dogs had the parasite. This method proved to be very effective, accurately diagnosing the infection in these young dogs with respiratory distress.
People also search for: young dog breathing problems · Angiostrongylus vasorum symptoms · dog lung ultrasound diagnosis
Abstract
The nematode, Angiostrongylus vasorum is a nematode that lives in the pulmonary arteries of canids and has an obligate gastropod intermediate host. It can cause various clinical signs. with the two most common clinical scenarios consisting of acute respiratory distress and haemorrhagic diathesis, either separately or together. Younger dogs (< 2 years) are overrepresented, and dogs often show pulmonary granulomata (radiographically and pathologically). Thoracic ultrasonography offers a safe, rapid, commonly available, non-invasive means of assessing the lungs. We prospectively examined the utility of thoracic ultrasonography in the diagnosis of angiostrongylosis in 26 client-owned dogs <2 years old, presenting with respiratory distress. We identified small hypoechoic subpleural nodules in 15/26 dogs; 14 of these were subsequently confirmed to have angiostrongylosis by faecal Baermann concentration test, A. vasorum antigen testing or both. The remaining 11 dogs without subpleural nodules had negative faecal analysis and A. vasorum antigen testing and diagnosed with other respiratory diseases. This resulted in a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 92% for the detection of angiostrongylosis by thoracic ultrasonography in young dogs presenting with respiratory distress. Our results suggest that thoracic ultrasonography might offer a safe, rapid, relatively accurate diagnostic test for diagnosis of angiostrongylosis in young adult dogs with respiratory distress living in endemic areas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33840489/