Comparison of radiologic imaging techniques for diagnosis of fragmented medial coronoid process of the cubital joint in dogs.

Thirty cubital joints from 16 dogs suspected of having a fragmented medial coronoid process were examined. Four breeds accounted for 87.5% of the cases: German Shepherd Dog (25%), Labrador Retriever (25%), Rottweiler (18.75%), and Golden Retriever (18.75%). Seventy-five percent of the dogs were male. Mean age of affected dogs was 13.6 months. Plain-film radiography, xeroradiography, linear tomography, arthrography, and computed tomography were performed on each cubital joint prior to surgical exploration of the joint. Three reviewers evaluated each diagnostic study and independently determined whether a fragment from the medial coronoid process could be seen. The consensus opinion was compared with the finding at surgery. Abnormalities of the medial coronoid process were detected in 25 of 30 joints at surgery. Fragmented coronoid process was found in 17 of 30 joints, and wear lesions were observed in 8 of 30 joints. Computed tomography had the highest accuracy (86.7%), sensitivity (88.2%), and negative-predictive value (84.6%) of the 5 imaging modalities evaluated (P < 0.05). Specificity and positive-predictive value of all imaging techniques were high. There was no significant difference between the diagnostic ability of plain-film radiography, xeroradiography, or linear tomography of the cubital joint. The combination of plain-film radiography and linear tomography provided an improvement in accuracy, approaching that of computed tomography.