Prevalence and Features of Incidental Findings in Veterinary Computed Tomography: A Single-Center Six-Years’ Experience

Abstract

Computed tomography (CT) is an advanced imaging technique that may lead to detect “incidentalomas”, unexpected asymptomatic lesions found during unrelated examinations. Their clinical meaning and management are not clear for veterinarians, who risk unnecessary investigations that harm the patients. This study is a retrospective analysis that aims to investigate incidentalomas in CT exams and to describe their prevalence, location, types and follow-up, their correlations and associations with the species, breed, sex, and age of patients examined and with the kind and number of sites scanned. The reports of 561 CT scans performed in 512 dogs and 49 cats in a veterinary facility over six years were reviewed and compared to the clinical records of the patients. Eighty incidentalomas were found in 57 dogs and four cats. A significant positive correlation was found in dogs between age and the prevalence of incidentalomas. In dogs, the prevalence of incidentalomas was significantly higher in Boxers and in neck, thoracic, and abdominal scans. Spinal incidentalomas were the most common typologies in dogs. This study can represent a tool that allows clinicians to acquire greater awareness about incidentalomas and to carry out the evidence-based clinical management of them.

Incidental Findings in Computed Tomography Examination of the Head in Rabbits and Guinea Pigs

“…Overall, incidental findings detected in our study (in 66.7% and 64.6%, respectively, in rabbits and guinea pigs) are much higher than described in dogs and cats, with the presence of incidentalomas in respectively 11.65 and 8.33% of the CT examination of the head [ 10 ].…”

“…Also for the assessment of middle ear disease in rabbits the use of CT is well documented [ 9 ]. The ever-more-available use of CT as an advanced diagnostic imaging modality increases the possibility of accidental detection of asymptomatic lesions in different organs [ 10 ]. The definition of incidental findings, or “incidentalomas” slightly changed over time and, in diagnostic imaging, refers to an unexpected, asymptomatic lesion discovered by chance during the investigation of an unrelated condition [ 10 , 11 ].…”

“…The ever-more-available use of CT as an advanced diagnostic imaging modality increases the possibility of accidental detection of asymptomatic lesions in different organs [ 10 ]. The definition of incidental findings, or “incidentalomas” slightly changed over time and, in diagnostic imaging, refers to an unexpected, asymptomatic lesion discovered by chance during the investigation of an unrelated condition [ 10 , 11 ]. In veterinary medicine, the prevalence of CT-detected incidental findings has been reported in the feline head [ 12 ], canine adrenal [ 13 ] and thyroid gland [ 14 ], and canine sacculiths [ 15 ].…”

“…In veterinary medicine, the prevalence of CT-detected incidental findings has been reported in the feline head [ 12 ], canine adrenal [ 13 ] and thyroid gland [ 14 ], and canine sacculiths [ 15 ]. Recently, incidental findings in CT examinations of dogs and cats have been reported in 11.13% and 8.16% of the studies of the head, respectively [ 10 ].…”