Ultrasonographic diagnosis of congenital portosystemic shunt in 14 cats

Abstract

Twenty-four cats with clinical and, or, clinicopathological signs compatible with portosystemic shunting were examined prospectively using two-dimensional grey-scale, duplex and colour-flow Doppler ultrasonography. Diagnosis of congenital portosystemic shunt was subsequently confirmed in 14 cats using operative mesenteric portography and surgery. Of the 14 affected cats, nine were purebred; eight were male and six female. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was nine months (range four to 27 months). Ultrasonographic evidence of a small liver was present in seven cats (50 per cent); visibility of intrahepatic portal vessels was reduced in three (21 per cent). An anomalous blood vessel was identified ultrasonographically in each cat; in 10 cats (71 per cent) the vessel was observed to originate from the portal vein and drain into the caudal vena cava. Abnormally variable portal blood flow was present in eight of the 10 cats in which it was measured. At surgery, six shunts were intrahepatic and eight extrahepatic; the ultrasonographic diagnosis of intra- versus extrahepatic shunt was correct in 13 cats (93 per cent). No anomalous blood vessels or abnormalities affecting the portal vein were detected ultrasonographically in any of the 10 cats that did not have congenital portosystemic shunting. Hence, the accuracy of ultrasonography for diagnosis of congenital portosystemic shunting in this series was 100 per cent.

Ultrasonographic identification and characterization of congenital portosystemic shunts and portal hypertensive disorders in dogs and cats

“…4,42 The shunting vessel is usually a single extrahepatic wide vein. 4,42 The shunting vessel is usually a single extrahepatic wide vein.…”

Acute onset of blindness secondary to a splenosystemic shunt in an adult cat

“…The majority of cats with a PSS are presented with clinical signs resulting from HE (93–100 per cent) (Birchard and Sherding 1992, Lamb and others 1996, Lipscomb and others 2007, 2009). These clinical signs are usually divided into four stages (Table 1) (Munoz 2008, Rothuizen 2009, Salgado and Cortes 2013b) and the patient was classified as a Stage 2.…”

“…A stunted appearance is frequently reported (Scavelli and others 1986, Center and Magne 1990, Lamb and others 1996, Lipscomb and others 2007, 2009, Tivers and Lipscomb 2011) and copper-coloured irises inappropriate for the breed, have also been documented in feline PSSs (Scavelli and others 1986, Center and Magne 1990, Lamb and others 1996, Havig and Tobias 2002, Kyles and others 2002, Lipscomb and others 2007, Tivers and Lipscomb 2011) although the association between this sign and the disease is still controversial. The cat in this study had these copper-coloured irises since he was a kitten and, therefore, this finding is either coincidental or reflects that the disease has always been present.…”

Uso do ultra-som dúplex Doppler no diagnóstico de shunt portossistêmico em gatos

“…Em ambos os animais, ao exame ultra-sonográfico convencional, foi possível notar diminuição das dimensões hepáticas e dificuldade na visibilização dos vasos hepáticos, conforme relatado em casos de (Lamb et al,1996;D`Anjou et al, 2004;Brum et al, 2007).…”