Introduction

Uses

• Investigation of:
  • Palpable or radiographic gastrointestinal masses.
  • Gastrointestinal obstructions.
• Identification of non-palpable gastrointestinal lesions Inflammatory bowel disease: overview.
• Assessment of peristalsis.
• Investigation of diarrhea Diarrhea: chronic.
• Investigation of weight loss Weight loss: overview.
• Investigation of vomiting Vomiting.

Advantages

• Low cost.
• Non-invasive.
• Straightforward.
• Short time requirement.
• Rarely requires sedation.
• No known biological risk.
• Allows ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration or biopsy.
  Time requirement will reduce with operator experience.

Disadvantages

• Will require patient's coat to be clipped.
• Normal sonographic appearance does not exclude disease.
• Abnormal sonographic appearance does not always indicate significant disease.
• Similar sonographic appearance with different diseases.

Potential problems

• Poor transducer-skin contact:
  • Inadequate clipping.
  • Insufficient coupling medium.
• Inadequate patient restraint.
• Operator inexperience.
• Intraluminal gas interfering with image quality.
• Ultrasound should be performed before administration of contrast, eg barium.

Alternatives

• Plain or contrast radiography Radiography: gastrography Radiography: barium series.
• Fluoroscopy.
• Gastroscopy Gastroscopy and Enteroscopy Enteroscopy.
• Nuclear medicine.

Equipment

Patient preparation

Technique

Normal Anatomy

Abnormalities

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Boysen S R, Tidwell A S & Penninck D G (2003) Ultrasonographic findings in dogs and cats with gastrointestinal perforation. Vet Radiol Ultrasound 44 (5), 556-564 PubMed.
• Kull P A, Hess R S, Craig L E et al (2001) Clinical, clinicopathological, radiographic and ultrasonographic characteristics of intestinal lymphangiectasia in dogs 17 cases (1996-1998). JAVMA 219 (2), 197-202 PubMed.
• Manczur F & Vörös K (2000) Gastrointestinal ultrasonography of the dog: a review of 265 cases (1996-1998). Acta Vet Hung 48 (1), 9-21 PubMed.
• Penninck D G, Nyland T G, Kerr L Y (1990) Ultrasonographic evaluation of gastrointestinal diseases in small animals. Vet Radiol 31 (3), 134-141 VetMedResource.
• Penninck D G, Nyland T G, Fisher P E et al (1989) Ultrasonography of the normal canine gastrointestinal tract. Vet Radiol 30 (6), 272-276 VetMedResource.

Other sources of information

• Homco L D (1996) Gastrointestinal tract. In: Small Animal Ultrasound. Ed: Green R W. Lippincott-Raven, Philadelphia. pp 149-175.
• Penninck D G (1995) Ultrasonography of the gastrointestinal tract. In: Veterinary Diagnostic Ultrasound.Eds: Nyland T G & Mattoon J S. WB Saunders Company, Philadelphia. pp 125-140.