Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association
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Vet Radiol Ultrasound · Nov 2015
Comparative StudyCOMPARISON OF LUNG ATTENUATION AND HETEROGENEITY BETWEEN CATS WITH EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED ALLERGIC ASTHMA, NATURALLY OCCURRING ASTHMA AND NORMAL CATS.
Airway remodeling is a prominent feature of feline allergic asthma but requires biopsy for characterization. Computed tomography (CT) has appeal as a minimally invasive diagnostic test. The purpose of this prospective case-control study was to compare indices of airway remodeling between cats with experimentally induced, spontaneous asthma and healthy unaffected cats using CT. ⋯ Objective quantification of lung heterogeneity and lung volume did not differ among the three groups (P = 0.311, P = 0.181, respectively). Findings supported our hypothesis. Inspiratory breath-hold anesthetized CT scans facilitated discrimination between asthmatic and healthy cats in comparison to unrestrained CT scans.