Today’s case is an 11-year-old female neutered Chihuahua with vomiting, lethargy, and respiratory difficulty. Post your comments in the comments section!
Teaching and learning about veterinary diagnostic imaging.
Today’s case is an 11-year-old female neutered Chihuahua with vomiting, lethargy, and respiratory difficulty. Post your comments in the comments section!
Four projections of the entire body are available for review. There is a moderate amount of pleural effusion present bilaterally, which is most severe in the right cranial thorax. There is moderate atelectasis of the right lung lobes, especially in the right middle. The cardiac silhouette is markedly enlarged with mild to moderate left atrial enlargement. The pulmonary vasculature appears to be within normal limits. There is an alveolar pattern within the right middle lung lobe. There is a moderate diffuse loss of serosal detail within the abdomen. On two of the projections, the duodenum is diffusely gas distended. The course of the duodenum is abnormal, and there is some irregularity of the margin of the proximal duodenum.
These radiographic findings are most consistent with severe pancreatitis. Abdominal ultrasound is recommended if clinically indicated. The pleural effusion, more severe on the right, may also be related to the pancreatitis given the asymmetric nature, but other causes for pleural effusion should also be considered. Alveolar pulmonary infiltrates most likely represent bronchopneumonia. Cardiomegaly with left atrial enlargement; echocardiogram is recommended if clinically indicated.
Pancreatitis
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