Abdominal computed tomography and exploratory laparotomy have high agreement in dogs with surgical disease.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of abdominal CT with exploratory laparotomy in the dog. ANIMALS: 100 client-owned dogs from 1 academic institution. METHODS: Medical records were searched for dogs that had undergone a preoperative abdominal CT scan read by a board-certified veterinary radiologist followed by an exploratory laparotomy. CT and surgical reports were compared. RESULTS: The overall agreement between abdominal CT scan and exploratory laparotomy in all cases was 97%. Overall, there was no evidence that proportion agreement differed on the basis of body condition score, time interval between CT and surgery, or oncologic versus nononcologic disease. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Abdominal CT scan read by a board-certified diplomate is a sensitive presurgical diagnostic tool for surgical abdominal disease in the dog. When performing a specific abdominal surgery, it is acceptable for the surgeon to fully explore the abdomen or forego it for a smaller approach to the organ of interest if an abdominal CT was performed prior.

Porcupine quilling-associated pneumothorax in dogs: 25 cases (2001-2022).

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical outcome of dogs that developed pneumothorax after an encounter with a porcupine. ANIMALS: 25 client-owned dogs from 2 practices in New England. PROCEDURES: The medical records were searched for those of dogs that underwent care for porcupine quilling-associated pneumothorax (PQAP) between August 1, 2001, and October 15, 2023. Dogs were all large-breed dogs or large mixed-breed dogs and most frequently had clinical signs associated with pneumothorax, including labored breathing and tachypnea. RESULTS: No cases occurred in winter months. Diagnostic imaging was useful for identifying pneumothorax, but not for localizing quills. Twenty-one of the 25 dogs underwent median sternotomy for quill removal, with quills found in lung tissue of 19 dogs. Two dogs had no intrathoracic quills identified at thoracotomy, but residual quills were identified in the intercostal muscles. Four dogs were discharged without surgery after apparent resolution of the pneumothorax. All dogs survived to hospital discharge; however, 5 dogs required subsequent quill removal from ongoing quill migration. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Porcupine quillings may result in traumatic pneumothorax associated with quill migration. Following quill removal, monitoring for the development of a pneumothorax is advised. Surgical removal of quills from the lungs has a good prognosis.