Abstract
Objective-To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of abdominal computed radiography (CR) for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses and to examine how these parameters are affected by the number and anatomic location of enteroliths and by gas distension of the gastrointestinal tract. Design-Retrospective case series. Animals-Horses ≥ 1 year old that underwent abdominal CR and subsequent exploratory laparotomy or postmortem examination. Procedures-3 reviewers blinded to signalment, history, clinical signs, and diagnoses separately evaluated abdominal computed radiographs of horses included in the study. Each set of radiographs was evaluated for the presence or absence of enteroliths, the amount of gas distention, and the image quality. Signalment, definitive diagnosis on the basis of findings on exploratory laparotomy or postmortem examination, and the number and location of enteroliths were obtained from medical records. Results-Of the 142 cases reviewed, 58.4% (83/142) had confirmed enterolithiasis. For the 3 reviewers, overall sensitivity was 85% and specificity was 93%. Sensitivity was lower for small colon enteroliths than for large colon enteroliths (50% and 94.5%, respectively) and was significantly affected by gas distention. Sensitivity was not significantly affected by the number of enteroliths. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Computed radiography provided high sensitivity and high specificity for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses. Caution should be exercised when the radiographic results are negative, as the sensitivity for small colon enterolithiasis was relatively low and gas distension negatively affected detection of enteroliths. Abdominal CR is indicated as a diagnostic test in horses examined for colic in geographic regions in which enterolithiasis is endemic.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1483-1485 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association |
| Volume | 239 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2011 |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- veterinary(all)
Cite this
Abdominal computed radiography for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses : 142 cases (2003-2007). / Maher, Omar; Puchalski, Sarah M.; Drake, Christiana; Le jeune, Sonia S.
In: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. 239, No. 11, 12.2011, p. 1483-1485.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Abdominal computed radiography for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses
T2 - 142 cases (2003-2007)
AU - Maher, Omar
AU - Puchalski, Sarah M.
AU - Drake, Christiana
AU - Le jeune, Sonia S
PY - 2011/12
Y1 - 2011/12
N2 - Objective-To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of abdominal computed radiography (CR) for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses and to examine how these parameters are affected by the number and anatomic location of enteroliths and by gas distension of the gastrointestinal tract. Design-Retrospective case series. Animals-Horses ≥ 1 year old that underwent abdominal CR and subsequent exploratory laparotomy or postmortem examination. Procedures-3 reviewers blinded to signalment, history, clinical signs, and diagnoses separately evaluated abdominal computed radiographs of horses included in the study. Each set of radiographs was evaluated for the presence or absence of enteroliths, the amount of gas distention, and the image quality. Signalment, definitive diagnosis on the basis of findings on exploratory laparotomy or postmortem examination, and the number and location of enteroliths were obtained from medical records. Results-Of the 142 cases reviewed, 58.4% (83/142) had confirmed enterolithiasis. For the 3 reviewers, overall sensitivity was 85% and specificity was 93%. Sensitivity was lower for small colon enteroliths than for large colon enteroliths (50% and 94.5%, respectively) and was significantly affected by gas distention. Sensitivity was not significantly affected by the number of enteroliths. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Computed radiography provided high sensitivity and high specificity for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses. Caution should be exercised when the radiographic results are negative, as the sensitivity for small colon enterolithiasis was relatively low and gas distension negatively affected detection of enteroliths. Abdominal CR is indicated as a diagnostic test in horses examined for colic in geographic regions in which enterolithiasis is endemic.
AB - Objective-To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of abdominal computed radiography (CR) for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses and to examine how these parameters are affected by the number and anatomic location of enteroliths and by gas distension of the gastrointestinal tract. Design-Retrospective case series. Animals-Horses ≥ 1 year old that underwent abdominal CR and subsequent exploratory laparotomy or postmortem examination. Procedures-3 reviewers blinded to signalment, history, clinical signs, and diagnoses separately evaluated abdominal computed radiographs of horses included in the study. Each set of radiographs was evaluated for the presence or absence of enteroliths, the amount of gas distention, and the image quality. Signalment, definitive diagnosis on the basis of findings on exploratory laparotomy or postmortem examination, and the number and location of enteroliths were obtained from medical records. Results-Of the 142 cases reviewed, 58.4% (83/142) had confirmed enterolithiasis. For the 3 reviewers, overall sensitivity was 85% and specificity was 93%. Sensitivity was lower for small colon enteroliths than for large colon enteroliths (50% and 94.5%, respectively) and was significantly affected by gas distention. Sensitivity was not significantly affected by the number of enteroliths. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Computed radiography provided high sensitivity and high specificity for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses. Caution should be exercised when the radiographic results are negative, as the sensitivity for small colon enterolithiasis was relatively low and gas distension negatively affected detection of enteroliths. Abdominal CR is indicated as a diagnostic test in horses examined for colic in geographic regions in which enterolithiasis is endemic.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=81355132715&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=81355132715&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2460/javma.239.11.1483
DO - 10.2460/javma.239.11.1483
M3 - Article
C2 - 22087725
AN - SCOPUS:81355132715
VL - 239
SP - 1483
EP - 1485
JO - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
JF - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
SN - 0003-1488
IS - 11
ER -