Kurihara Manabu, Solano Mauricio, Motegi Tomoki
Department of Molecular and Biological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 1060 William Moore Drive, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA.
Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 200 Westboro Rd, North Grafton, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA.
BMC Vet Res. 2025 Apr 14;21(1):267. doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04729-5.
Analog radiographic techniques traditionally focus on collimation to enhance diagnostic quality by limiting the field to the area of interest. With digital radiology systems, this study hypothesized that whole-body radiographs are diagnostically equivalent to collimated thoracic radiographs. Conducted at a university teaching hospital from November 2019 to April 2021, the study involved 40 client-owned small-breed dogs and cats presenting with respiratory or cardiovascular complaints. Each animal underwent both whole-body radiographs and collimated thoracic radiographs, and the radiographs were evaluated by three board-certified radiologists and three general practitioners in a blinded, randomized manner, based on a 12-question Likert scale survey.
Diagnostic assessments of thoracic findings were equivalent between whole-body radiographs and collimated thoracic radiographs, with no significant differences identified by the six reviewers, irrespective of their level of expertise. These findings confirm that whole-body radiographs and collimated thoracic radiographs are diagnostically comparable for identifying thoracic abnormal findings, including cardiomegaly (n = 19), bronchial pattern (n = 12), esophageal dilation (n = 7), alveolar pattern (presumably pneumonia) (n = 6), narrowing of the trachea and bronchi (n = 5), left-sided congestive heart failure (n = 4), pleural effusion (n = 4), rib fractures (n = 2), pulmonary mass/nodule (n = 2), transitional vertebrae (n = 2), intrathoracic lymphadenopathy (n = 1), and hypovolemia (n = 1).
The study supports whole-body radiographs as a practical alternative to collimated thoracic radiographs for evaluating thoracic abnormal findings in small animals. WBR offers a simpler imaging approach without compromising diagnostic accuracy, providing a flexible and reliable option in clinical practice.
传统的模拟放射成像技术主要通过准直来将视野限制在感兴趣区域，以提高诊断质量。本研究基于数字放射成像系统推测，全身X光片在诊断上等同于准直的胸部X光片。该研究于2019年11月至2021年4月在一家大学教学医院进行，纳入了40只因呼吸或心血管问题前来就诊的客户拥有的小型犬和猫。每只动物都接受了全身X光片和准直的胸部X光片检查，这些X光片由三名获得委员会认证的放射科医生和三名全科医生以盲法、随机的方式，根据一份包含12个问题的李克特量表进行评估。
全身X光片和准直的胸部X光片对胸部检查结果的诊断评估相当，六位评估者均未发现显著差异，无论其专业水平如何。这些结果证实，全身X光片和准直的胸部X光片在识别胸部异常表现方面具有诊断可比性，包括心脏肥大（n = 19）、支气管影像（n = 12）、食管扩张（n = 7）、肺泡影像（可能为肺炎）（n = 6）、气管和支气管狭窄（n = 5）、左侧充血性心力衰竭（n = 4）、胸腔积液（n = 4）、肋骨骨折（n = 2）、肺部肿块/结节（n = 2）、过渡椎骨（n = 2）、胸内淋巴结病（n = 1）和血容量不足（n = 1）。
该研究支持将全身X光片作为评估小动物胸部异常表现的一种实用替代方法，替代准直的胸部X光片。全身X光片提供了一种更简单的成像方法，且不影响诊断准确性，在临床实践中提供了一种灵活可靠的选择。
