Feasibility study of computed tomography texture analysis for evaluation of canine primary adrenal gland tumors.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of computed tomography (CT) texture analysis for distinguishing canine adrenal gland tumors and its usefulness in clinical decision-making. Materials and methods: The medical records of 25 dogs with primary adrenal masses who underwent contrast CT and a histopathological examination were retrospectively reviewed, of which 12 had adenomas (AAs), 7 had adenocarcinomas (ACCs), and 6 had pheochromocytomas (PHEOs). Conventional CT evaluation of each adrenal gland tumor included the mean, maximum, and minimum attenuation values in Hounsfield units (HU), heterogeneity of the tumor parenchyma, and contrast enhancement (type, pattern, and degree), respectively, in each phase. In CT texture analysis, precontrast and delayed-phase images of 18 adrenal gland tumors, which could be applied for ComBat harmonization were used, and 93 radiomic features (18 first-order and 75 second-order statistics) were extracted. Then, ComBat harmonization was applied to compensate for the batch effect created by the different CT protocols. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for each significant feature was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of CT texture analysis. Results: Among the conventional features, PHEO showed significantly higher mean and maximum precontrast HU values than ACC (p < 0.05). Eight second-order features on the precontrast images showed significant differences between the adrenal gland tumors (p < 0.05). However, none of them were significantly different between AA and PHEO, or between precontrast images and delayed-phase images. This result indicates that ACC exhibited more heterogeneous and complex textures and more variable intensities with lower gray-level values than AA and PHEO. The correlation, maximal correlation coefficient, and gray level non-uniformity normalized were significantly different between AA and ACC, and between ACC and PHEO. These features showed high AUCs in discriminating ACC and PHEO, which were comparable or higher than the precontrast mean and maximum HU (AUC = 0.865 and 0.860, respectively). Conclusion: Canine primary adrenal gland tumor differentiation can be achieved with CT texture analysis on precontrast images and may have a potential role in clinical decision-making. Further prospective studies with larger populations and cross-validation are warranted.

Review of outcomes of using lower ethanol concentration (83%) in percutaneous ultrasound-guided renal cyst sclerotherapy in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous renal cyst sclerotherapy (PRCS) as a treatment for renal cysts is usually performed with a high concentration of ethanol (≥ 90%). This study reviewed cases in which a lower concentration of ethanol (83%) was used for the procedure in dogs. METHODS: Records of cases of renal cysts treated by sclerotherapy using 83% ethanol in dogs were reviewed. Outcomes of the treatment were evaluated by comparing volumes of renal cysts before the procedure and the volumes after treatment, using ultrasound images with the volume reduction rates classified as follows: < 50% of initial volume (failed); ≥ 50% but < 80% of initial volume (partial success); ≥ 80% but < 95% of initial volume (great success); ≥ 95% of initial volume (complete success). RESULTS: Out of nine dog kidneys, renal cysts sclerotherapy with 83% ethanol achieved partial success in one kidney, great success in four, and complete success in the other four. No side effect was observed. The mean of the volume-reduction rates was 90.00 ± 11.00 while the minimum and maximum reduction rates were 65% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The lower ethanol concentration (83%) is good for disinfecting kidneys in PRCS.

Psychometric Properties of the Korean Version of the Environmental Health Literacy Scale.

The environmental health literacy (EHL) scale evaluates media-specific and general EHL levels in three domains: knowledge, attitude, and behavior. This study aimed to adapt the EHL scale developed by Lichtveld et al. into the Korean language (K-EHL scale) and to verify its reliability and validity. Survey data was collected from 492 adults (19-65 years) residing in Korea. The study process included translation procedures, content validity verification, pre-testing, the actual survey, and statistical analysis for validation and selection of the final items. The scale-level content validity index was 0.92, and one item was removed. Multiple exploratory factor analyses condensed the K-EHL into 2 factors and 38 items. The "Environmental health knowledge and attitude" factor (14 items) measures information, feelings, and thoughts about environmental health. The "Environmental health behavior" factor (24 items) comprises behaviors responding to environmental health. A construct validity (criterion and discriminant validity) was verified using confirmatory factor analysis for goodness of fit (CFI = 0.901, TLI = 0.863, GFI = 0.923, NFI = 0.862, and RMSEA = 0.08). Internal consistency reliability test results showed a Cronbach's α of 0.81 for the total items. This study is the first to introduce the EHL in Korea, and it also presents a validated evaluation tool. The K-EHL is expected to elucidate EHL levels in Korea. In the future, the EHL scale can be enhanced using this tool.

Ultrasonographic measurement of caudal vena cava to aorta ratios for determination of volume depletion in normal beagle dogs.

A noninvasive method for quantifying hydration status would be helpful for clinical management and for research applications in dogs. This prospective, experimental, pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility of ultrasonographic measurement of the caudal vena cava to aorta ratio as a method for quantifying volume depletion in dogs. In 12 normal beagle dogs, furosemide was administered intravenously at a dose of 1 mg/kg, every 2 h, for 8 h, to induce consecutive volume depletion. Every 30 min after administration, ultrasonographic images of the caudal vena cava and aorta, and physical and biological parameters related to dehydration were acquired. On transverse and longitudinal planes of caudal vena cava and aorta images, the height and area of the caudal vena cava and aorta were measured to calculate the caudal vena cava/aorta ratios. All images were acquired by approaching from the right intercostal space with the dogs in left lateral recumbency. A negative correlation was present between the percentage of weight loss in dogs and all four investigated caudal vena cava/aorta ratios (transverse plane width of the caudal vena cava [TW]/aorta; transverse plane height of caudal vena cava [TH]/aorta; longitudinal plane area of the caudal vena cava [TA]/aorta; and longitudinal plane maximal height of the caudal vena cava [L]/aorta). Significant differences (P < 0.001) were seen between dogs with and without clinical signs of dehydration for all caudal vena cava/aorta ratios. Findings indicated that ultrasonographic caudal vena cava/aorta ratios are feasible methods for quantifying volume depletion and for use as an adjunct to standard subjective methods for estimating hydration status in dogs.