With the improved accessibility to ultrasound, fine needle aspiration of abdominal organs is now performed frequently in many veterinary practices. Despite this, there are many ‘unknowns’ as to the best method to produce a high‐quality sample. This report begins by highlighting recent literature on the risks and benefits of abdominal fine needle aspiration. It follows with recommendations about the equipment and method best suited to the procedure, including needle and syringe size and aspiration versus non‐aspiration techniques. Various smear preparations and laboratory submission requirements are also discussed. The final aspect of the review more specifically discusses fine needle aspiration of specific abdominal organs: the liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas, urinary bladder, prostate and abdominal lymph nodes.
This study supports the use of a Greyhound-specific RI for SDMA. Using previously established canine RIs for this breed could result in the overdiagnosis of renal disease.
Objectives
Cytological biopsies are an integral additional test to an abdominal ultrasound when a lesion is identified, but there is little published on factors that that may impact achieving a clinically useful sample of gastrointestinal lesions obtained by ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle cytologic biopsy. This retrospective, descriptive study aimed to assess factors that may influence the clinical usefulness of submitted cytological samples collected from gastrointestinal lesions by ultrasound‐guided percutaneous fine‐needle cytologic biopsy.
Material and Methods
Gastrointestinal cytological samples obtained from 25 dogs and 19 cats over 2.5 years were reviewed and determined as clinically useful or clinically useless as per the cytology report. Variables dependent on the ultrasound exam that were used in the analysis included lesion location, lesion thickness, loss of gastrointestinal layering, and the number of slides submitted.
Results
Thirty (30/44) of the submitted cytological samples were considered clinically useful. Factors associated with achieving a clinically useful sample in univariable models included the number of slides submitted and the thickness of the lesion. However, these two variables appear inter‐related, as a weak correlation existed between them. Where histologic biopsies were obtained, a clinically useful sample had a partial or complete agreement with histology in three of 12 and eight of 12 cases, respectively.
Clinical Significance
Ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle cytological biopsies of gastrointestinal masses provided a clinically useful sample in two‐third of the cases, especially if more slides were provided to the cytologist and thicker lesions were sampled.
Case summary
A 4-year-old female neutered domestic longhair cat was presented at a referral hospital
for dyspnoea with a history of suspected pleural effusion. Thoracic ultrasonography
demonstrated a large-volume pericardial effusion causing cardiac tamponade and a cystic
mass within the pericardium. CT revealed a peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia
(PPDH) caused by a defect of the ventral diaphragm. Herniated contents consisted of the
right lateral and caudate liver lobes, and an associated cystic hepatic mass. Ventral
midline coeliotomy was performed for herniorrhaphy and partial pericardiectomy, together
with lobectomy of the incarcerated liver mass. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry
diagnosed a poorly differentiated hepatic sarcoma with inflammation and remodelling in
the adjacent incarcerated liver parenchyma. The patient developed metastatic sarcoma 2
months after surgery and was euthanased as a result.
Relevance and novel information
Pericardial effusion causing cardiac tamponade is a previously unreported sequelae to
PPDH in cats. Reports on the presence of malignancy in incarcerated liver are scarce and
the location is not typical for a sarcoma in this species.
Background: Serum creatinine concentrations are higher in Greyhounds when compared with nonsighthound breeds. Greyhounds might also have higher urine creatinine concentrations compared with other breeds, which could affect urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPC) references. Objectives: We aimed to determine the UPC reference intervals (RIs) in healthy nonracing Greyhounds and compare this with UPC values in a group of healthy nonsighthounds and with the current International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) guidelines. Methods: The study used an observational cross-sectional design, involving clinically healthy, nonracing Greyhounds (n = 98) and nonsighthound dogs of similar weight, age, and sex (n = 24). Packed cell volumes, total solids, urine protein concentrations, serum and urine creatinine concentrations, urine specific gravity (USG) measurements, and UPCs were determined. Linear regression was used to compare urine creatinine and urine protein concentrations, relative to the USG measurements, between Greyhound and nonsighthound groups. Greyhound UPC RIs were determined using nonparametric methods and compared with UPC values in nonsighthounds and current IRIS guidelines.
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