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Updated: Aug 14, 2025

Ultrasonography of the Adult Male Urinary Tract for Urinary Functional Testing
Published on: August 14, 2019
Evaluating feline lower urinary tract disease: Doppler ultrasound of the kidneys
Gabriela Cl Evangelista1, Lorraine Rsm Dornelas1, Cristiane Cv Cintra1
1Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil.
Objectives:
Ultrasonography is used in the evaluation of urinary disorders, and the resistivity index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) have been successfully used to detect early hemodynamic changes in the course of kidney diseases in humans and dogs. The aim of this study was to investigate RI and PI in cats with feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD).
Methods:
Twenty-nine client-owned cats were selected and divided into a control group (CG; n = 10), a group of animals with obstructive FLUTD (OG; n = 11) and non-obstructive FLUTD (nOG; n = 8). Clinical, laboratory and ultrasound evaluations were performed in all cats.
Results:
RI and PI values for cats in the CG were below the upper limit of normal suggested in other studies, while cats with FLUTD showed significantly higher values in the assessment of RI (P = 0.027 and P = 0.034, respectively) and PI (P = 0.044 and P = 0.048, respectively) of the right and left kidneys.
Conclusions And Relevance:
Alteration in renal blood flow was observed in cats with lower urinary tract disorders, even in the nOG group. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of renal blood flow changes related to non-obstructive FLUTD.
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