Thoracic Radiographs Effective Screening Test in Older Pets, K-State Researchers SayThoracic Radiographs Effective Screening Test in Older Pets, K-State Researchers SaynewslinePosted: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 4:59 p.m., EDTKansas State University researchers recently found that thoracic radiographs are an effective screening measure to detect nonclinical disease in geriatric dogs and cats. At K-State’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, senior animals can be enrolled in a program that includes screenings every six to 12 months. The exam includes a physical examination, blood work, urinalysis and fecal examination. A thoracic radiograph is included in the 12-month screening. Laura Armbrust, DVM, Dipl. ACVR, associate professor of radiology at K-State, and Dakota Chambers, a sophomore in biology, reviewed medical records from the teaching hospital of all dogs and cats that had undergone geriatric screening from May 2005 to September 2009. For the study, geriatric dogs were defined as 7 years old and older and geriatric cats as 11 years old and older. The researchers were most interested in looking for thoracic disease in animals that did not have signs of clinical disease. The researchers found that significant thoracic radiographic abnormalities were present in 17 percent of the cats in the study and 4 percent of the dogs. Examples of diseases that were identified in the study were cardiac enlargement and lung disease. “These findings provided information that was useful in the management of these cases,” Chambers said. <HOME>Kansas State University researchers recently found that thoracic radiographs are an effective screening measure to detect nonclinical disease in geriatric dogs and cats.Kansas State University researchers recently found that thoracic radiographs are an effective screening measure to detect nonclinical disease in geriatric dogs and cats.Thoracic Radiographs, geriatric dogs and cats, senior animals, Teaching Hospitals, cats, dogs
