Transthoracic Elastography in Differentiation of Lung Lesions in Dogs

The objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of ARFI elastography in 36 prospective cases in differentiating parenchymal lung abnormalities in dogs: consolidations, atelectasis and neoplasms, the latter being subdivided into nodules and masses; and correlates the data obtained by the technique with B-mode ultrasound parameters, cytology results, histopathology and information from the analysis of pleural effusions when present, in addition to clinical data, indicating cut-off values in dogs. Characteristics of lung lesions were evaluated using radiography as a screening test to locate the lesions and B-mode ultrasound. Subsequently, elastographic characteristics (qualitative and quantitative) were evaluated. B-mode ultrasound assessments and qualitative elastography were not statistically demonstrated in the parameters studied to differentiate between malignant and benign lesions (p > 0.05); while in the quantitative elastographic evaluation, less atelectatic lesions (1.48 m/s) were affected when compared to nodules (2.84 m/s), consolidations (2.94 m/s) and masses (3.12 m/s), in ascending order of complaint, demonstrating statistical significance (p = 0.023), even though a diagnostic cut-off value was not obtained. It is concluded that ARFI can contribute to the differentiation of lung lesions, complementing clinical data in the evaluation of dogs.