Correlation of age and weight with radiographic cardiac indices and cardiothoracic ratio in goats

A study was conducted to evaluate the radiographic cardiac indices and cardiothoracic ratio in 12 healthy goats of different ages and body weights. Goats were divided into Gr-I (5–15 kg, 3–6 months age, n=6) and Gr-II (16–30 kg, 7–12 months age, n=6). Approximate reference values for radiographic cardiac silhouette, carina, cardiac indices, cardiothoracic ratio and costophrenic angles of normal caprine heart image in ventro-dorsal and right lateral projections were recorded. In 84% of the goats, the cardiac silhouette was located between 3^rd and 6^th ribs, while in the remaining, it was seen between 2^nd and 5^th ribs. Mean cardiac indices and cardiothoracic ratio in Gr-I were 0.64±0.01 and 0.56±0.01 and in Gr-II were 0.63± 0.01 and 0.55±0.01, respectively. The costophrenic right and left side angles were measured as 28.00±4.20 and 22.16±2.14 in Gr-I and 29.00±2.27 and 29.33±1.63 in Gr-II, respectively. The cardiac index values of LA (r ² = 0.578), TD (r² = 0.605) and 2TD/3 (thoracic diameter) (r ² = 0.607) showed significant (P<0.05) positive correlation with age while cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) values LA (r² = 0.608), SA (r² = 0.737), TD (r² = 0.703), 2TD/3 (r² = 0.706), B (r² = 0.635), CD (r² = 0.663) and TD (r² = 0.628) revealed positive correlation with body weight of the goats. The standardized values of radiographic cardiac indices and cardiothoracic ratio and their correlation with age and weight would be helpful to diagnose various cardio-thoracic illnesses in goats.