Diagnostic Utility of Abdominal Ultrasonography in Dogs with Chronic Diarrhea

Background Chronic diarrhea is common in dogs and has many causes. Ultrasonographic descriptions of many gastrointestinal diseases have been published, but the diagnostic utility of ultrasonography in dogs with chronic diarrhea has not been investigated. Hypothesis Diagnostic utility of abdominal ultrasound will be highest in dogs with GI neoplasia and lowest in those with inflammatory disorders. Animals 87 pet dogs with chronic diarrhea. Methods Prospective study in which medical records were reviewed and contribution of abdominal ultrasound toward making diagnosis was scored. Results In 57/87 (66%) of dogs, the same diagnosis would have been reached without ultrasonography. In 13/87 (15%) of dogs, the ultrasound examination was vital or beneficial to making the diagnosis. Univariable analysis identified that increased diagnostic utility was associated with weight loss (P = .0086), palpation of an abdominal or rectal mass (P = .0031), diseases that commonly have mass lesions visible on ultrasound examination (P