Computed tomographic evaluation of the altered pancreas in dog and cat

Eighteen dogs and 12 cats of varying breed, age and sex underwent a computed tomographic study of the pancreas. Length, diameter and density of each lobe of the pancreas were measured. Further, the gained results were compared to the information established by the clinical examination, sonography, haematology and histology. Contrast CT improved evaluation of the pancreas in all cases of normal life controls. CT criteria such as changes in size, density, delimitation of the pancreas and the peripancreatic structures were analyzed. Increased pancreatic size was seen in inflammatory as well as in neoplastic diseases. There were no reliable computed tomographic criteria to differentiate pancreatic neoplasia from inflammation without peripancreatic findings. Ultrasonography proved to be a good screening method in this study: sonographic and computed tomographic results correlated in all cases with the exception of 5 cases. In contrast to ultrasonography CT could differentiate normal pancreas from pancreas atrophy. Computed tomography was superior to sonography in determining the full extent of pancreatic and peripancreatic signs due to the good overview and overall image of the abdominal structures. Serum chemistry of a- amylase and lipase were obtained in 28 animals. Assays of serum lipase and a- amylase activities were only able to detect acute pancreatitis in half of the canine cases. Despite morphological alterations detected with the help of sonography or CT, there were no significant increases in a- amylase and lipase in cats. Following computed tomography the pancreas of 10 animals was examined pathohistologically. With the exception of 2 cases the computed tomographic results correlated with the pathohistological findings. In conclusion, computed tomography (CT) proved to be a valuable method to evaluate the localization, the full extent and the seriousness of pancreatic lesions. (author)