In veterinary medicine, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography allowed the accurate quantification of liver, splenic and kidney vascularization in healthy dogs and the differentiation between malignant and benign hepatic, renal, and splenic nodules in dogs and cats based on perfusion patterns. The utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in other applications is still under study. The aim of this study was to develop diagnostic criteria by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in 8 client-owned adult dogs affected by urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma with definitive diagnosis made by cytopathologic evaluation after suction biopsy. The contrast enhancement pattern and the quantification of blood flow parameters of this tumor were reported. Examinations with B-mode, Doppler ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography were performed in all not sedated dogs. Assessments of bladder masses and bladder wall infiltration were performed. Each dog received 2 bolus injections of sulfur hexafluoride during the contrast-enhanced ultrasonography. Quantitative analysis of the contrast-enhanced ultrasonography images were performed. For each dog, one region of interest was manually drawn around the entire tumor. Software analysis of contrast-enhanced time-intensity curves was used to identify peak enhancement, time to peak enhancement, regional blood volume, regional blood flow, and mean transit time. Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography showed an avid enhancement of the tumour tissue, with a heterogeneous or homogeneous pattern. The exam also showed the loss of planes between the lesion and the muscular layer. The presence of vascularized tissue through the bladder wall confirms the infiltrative feature of the tumour. Post-processing quantitative analysis showed a time-intensity curve with a rapid wash-in, a low level of signal intensity and a slow wash-out. Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography provided useful clinical information and defined a vascular enhancement patterns and calculated parameters associated with TCC. It may be a useful, noninvasive and reproducible tool for detecting these tumors in dogs.

The use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has been widely reported for reproductive imaging in humans and animals. This review aims to analyze the utility of CEUS in characterizing canine reproductive physiology and pathologies. In September 2022, a search for articles about CEUS in canine testicles, prostate, uterus, placenta, and mammary glands was conducted on PubMed and Scopus from 1990 to 2022, showing 36 total results. CEUS differentiated testicular abnormalities and neoplastic lesions, but it could not characterize tumors. In prostatic diseases, CEUS in dogs was widely studied in animal models for prostatic cancer treatment. In veterinary medicine, this diagnostic tool could distinguish prostatic adenocarcinomas. In ovaries, CEUS differentiated the follicular phases. In CEH-pyometra syndrome, it showed a different enhancement between endometrium and cysts, and highlighted angiogenesis. CEUS was shown to be safe in pregnant dogs and was able to assess normal and abnormal fetal–maternal blood flow and placental dysfunction. In normal mammary glands, CEUS showed vascularization only in diestrus, with differences between mammary glands. CEUS was not specific for neoplastic versus non-neoplastic masses and for benign tumors, except for complex carcinomas and neoplastic vascularization. Works on CEUS showed its usefulness in a wide spectrum of pathologies of this non-invasive, reliable diagnostic procedure.

Nodular lymphoid hyperplasia (NLH) is one of the most common non-neoplastic splenic lesions in dogs, especially in old ones, showing a splenic enlargement. More recent studies have been focused on Contrast Enhanced Ultrasonography (CEUS) analysis of the spleen for establishing normal perfusion patterns and blood pool phase peculiarities of focal lesions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative CEUS analysis of the canine splenic NLH, characterizing the CEUS pattern of this pathology on 20 clinical cases. A prospective, observational study was performed using a system equipped with contrast-tuned imaging technology. Mechanical Index was set from 0.08 to 0.11; the contrast medium was a second generation contrast medium composed of sulphur hexafluoride encapsulated of a shell of phospholipids (SonoVue®). Qualitative and quantitative assessment of the enhancement pattern of splenic NLH were performed. Cytology and histology identified 20 splenic NLH. All of the benign hyperplastic lesions assessed were isoechoic with a homogeneous pattern than the surrounding normal spleen, during the wash-in phase (10–20 s) of the CEUS exam. Before finishing the wash-in phase, 20–45 s from the contrast medium inoculation, 19/20 benign nodules became markedly hypoechoic to the adjacent spleen. Sensitivity of hypoechoic pattern for NLH was 95%. These findings should prove useful in the evaluation of focal splenic masses in dogs. Since enhancement and perfusion patterns of NLH seem to coincide with some neoplastic lesions of the spleen previously reported, in clinical practice attention must be paid to the final diagnosis of canine splenic lesions using only the CEUS exam.

Shear wave elastography (SWE) is an advanced ultrasound technique that assesses tissue stiffness by measuring shear wave speed (SWS) produced after an acoustic impulse. It includes bidimensional (2D-SWE) and focal point (pSWE) methods, allowing qualitative and quantitative analysis of tissue stiffness. This study aimed to describe the elastographic features of testicular abnormalities in dogs, supported by histological findings. Eighteen dogs with testicular abnormalities underwent B-mode ultrasound, power and color Doppler ultrasound, 2D-SWE, and pSWE before orchiectomy. Five cryptorchid testes were excluded and thirty-one testes (12 normal, 7 with leydigomas, 6 with seminomas, 1 with a round cell tumor, and 5 with orchitis) were examined. Normal testes, lesions, and adjacent healthy tissues (no evident ultrasound changes, NEUC) were sampled. Testicular abnormalities presented SWS values of 1.05–4.89 m/s (2D-SWE) and 1.35–5.31 m/s (pSWE). Significant differences were observed among normal testes, NEUC areas, and those with orchitis, leydigomas, and seminomas by both 2D-SWE and pSWE. Normal testes were significantly softer than ones with leydigomas, seminomas, and orchitis, and NEUC areas also had different SWS values compared to those with tumors and orchitis (p < 0.05). However, SWE techniques lacked specificity in differentiating between orchitis and tumors. Diagnostic accuracy of SWE techniques for testicular lesions remains challenging and requires further investigation to fully address its clinical potential.

Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is responsible for splenic pathological changes. The main features detectable from ultrasound examination are splenomegaly and diffuse alterations of the echostructure. The study aimed to highlight whether these ultrasound changes are related to the severity of the disease or to a modification of splenic microvascularization that can be detected in vivo through contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS). Twenty-five adult dogs tested for CanL were enrolled in this prospective, controlled study and staged according to LeishVet guidelines. Bidimensional ultrasonography revealed that splenomegaly was seen in 50% of the affected dogs, and diffuse parenchymal changes were seen in more than 60% of dogs with splenomegaly, showing a positive correlation with severity of the disease; therefore, splenomegaly could be of prognostic significance. CEUS showed that a persistent heterogeneous distribution pattern appeared only in spleens with diffuse echostructure alterations. The evaluation of quantitative CEUS parameters regarding the volume and velocity of flow in three regions of interest did not show differences between affected and control dogs. Diffuse spleen microvascular modifications evidenced by CEUS were reported for the first time in dogs with CanL. In endemic areas, CanL could be included in the differential diagnoses list when detecting splenic alterations in dogs.

Domperidone is used as an immunomodulatory drug for Leishmania infantum infection and disease in dogs. However, a pro-arrhythmic side effect, caused by prolonged QT intervals, is reported in humans. This pilot study evaluated the corrected QT (QTc) interval in dogs treated with domperidone for preventive or therapeutic management of leishmaniosis. The electrocardiogram and blood concentration of creatinine, urea nitrogen, sodium, potassium, and chloride were evaluated seven days before the start and on the last day of therapy in 17 dogs receiving domperidone for four weeks. In two dogs, the QTc interval was measured before and 2 h, 3 h, and 12 h after administration of the drug on the first day of treatment. After treatment, QTc measures and chloride concentrations increased significantly, although the QTc value slightly exceeded the upper reference limit only in one dog, and chloride concentrations were always normal. Creatinine concentrations significantly decreased after therapy. In the two dogs monitored at different times on the first day of treatment, QTc values were always normal. Domperidone caused a slight prolongation of QTc interval, and further studies should be made for a risk assessment in dogs with cardiac diseases, electrolytic imbalance, and in those receiving drugs increasing QT interval or competing with domperidone metabolism.