Reliability of two dimensional B-mode ultrasonographic imaging for the detection of intra-abdominal pathologies in dogs

The study was conducted to understand the overall usefulness and to assess the efficacy of two dimensional B-mode ultrasonography in the diagnosis of clinical and intra-abdominal pathological conditions in dogs. The medical records of all the dogs referred for or presented with clinical signs related to intra-abdominal pathological conditions were retrospectively analyzed. The cases where an ultrasonographic diagnosis was made using a real time two dimensional B-mode scanner with 3.5 MHz convex transducer and a definitive diagnosis was later obtained using either invasive and/or minimally invasive alternative diagnostic techniques were selected for the study. In those cases where a confirmatory diagnosis could be achieved through the alternative diagnostic techniques, the results obtained were compared with the ultrasonographic findings to assess the efficacy, accuracy and reliability of ultrasonographic diagnosis. Among 348 dogs suspected of intra-abdominal pathologies, 236 dogs were diagnosed positive and 112 were diagnosed negative. Among the 236 cases diagnosed positive for intra-abdominal pathologies by ultrasound, 233 cases were found to be true positive and three were false positive. Among the 112 cases diagnosed negative for abdominal pathologies, 102 cases were true negative and 10 cases were found to be false negative using alternative techniques. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of intra-abdominal pathologies were estimated as 95.88%, 97.14%, 98.73%, 91.07% and 96.26% respectively. The findings suggested that ultrasonography could be used as a reliable tool for the diagnosis of intra-abdominal pathological conditions in dogs.