Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography of the small bowel in healthy cats

We characterized the pattern of ultrasonographic contrast enhancement of the small intestinal wall using a commercial contrast medium (Sonovue(®) ) in 10 healthy awake cats. Subjectively, a rapid intense enhancement of the serosal and submucosal layers was followed by gradual enhancement of the entire wall section during the early phase. At peak enhancement, there was a subjective loss of demarcation between intestinal wall layers. In the late phase, there was a gradual wash out of signal from the intestinal wall. Submucosal wash out occurred last. Time-intensity curves were generated for selected regions in the intestinal wall and multiple perfusion parameters were calculated for each cat. Perfusion parameters included arrival time (7.64 ± 2.23 s), baseline intensity (1.04 ± 0.04 a.u.), time to peak from injection (10.74 ± 2.08 s), time to peak from initial rise (3.1 ± 1.15), peak intensity (8.92 ± 3.72 a.u.), wash-in rate (2.06 ± 0.70 a.u./s) and wash-out rate (-1.07 ± 0.91 a.u./s). The perfusion pattern of normal feline small bowel may be useful for characterizing feline gastrointestinal disorders that involve the intestinal wall.