Clinical utility of abdominal multidetector CT in 85 goats with suspected abdominal disease

Diagnosing the cause of abdominal disease in goats can be challenging. Clinical history, physical investigation, and laboratory findings do not always allow definitive identification of intra-abdominal disease or the underlying cause. Multidetector CT (MDCT) has become more readily available and now often replaces or augments other abdominal imaging techniques. The objective of this retrospective, observational, descriptive study was to investigate the clinical utility of MDCT for evaluation of the abdomen in goats with suspected abdominal disease involving the urinary, gastrointestinal, reproductive tracts and abdominal wall. Medical records (1/2009-12/2017) were reviewed for all goats undergoing an abdominal MDCT. Signalment, clinical history, examination and MDCT findings and outcome were recorded and categorized by abdominal organ system and wall lesion. Clinical problems and MDCT findings were compared in the various abdominal categories. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic odds ratio (OR) were calculated for MDCT, using clinical examination findings as the reference standard. A total of 85 goats underwent an abdominal MDCT examination. The sensitivity of MDCT for detecting urinary, gastrointestinal, reproductive tract, and abdominal wall abnormalities in goats with clinical problems related to these body systems was high at 94.7 %, 78.3%, 94.1%, and 100%, and the specificity was high at 95.6%, 96.7%, 93.9%, and 100%, respectively. The PPV was 94.7%, 90.0 %, 80.0%, and 100.0%, the NPV was 95.6%, 92.1%, 98.4%, and 100%, and the OR were 387.0, 104.4, 248.0, and infinite. In conclusion, findings supported the use of MDCT as an adjunct diagnostic test for assessing goats with abdominal disease.