Renal Perfusion in Healthy Horses: A Feasibility Study With Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Renal Physiology

Background:

• Assessing renal perfusion in horses is crucial for diagnosing kidney disease.
• Traditional methods may have limitations in evaluating dynamic perfusion parameters.
• Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) offers a potential non-invasive solution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and safety of CEUS for renal perfusion assessment in horses.
• To compare renal perfusion parameters between young and old horses.
• To determine if CEUS can detect age-related changes in renal perfusion.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving eight healthy horses (4 young, 4 old).
• CEUS of the right kidney using SonoVue contrast agent (0.02 mL/kg).
• Quantitative analysis of time-intensity curves (peak intensity, time to peak, area under the curve, wash-out time) in renal cortex and medulla.

Main Results:

• CEUS was safely performed in all horses with an optimal contrast dose.
• A significantly longer time to peak (TP) was observed in the renal cortex of older horses (p=0.03).
• No other significant differences in perfusion parameters were found between age groups.

Conclusions:

• CEUS is a feasible and safe technique for evaluating renal perfusion in horses.
• Prolonged cortical TP in older horses suggests reduced perfusion velocity with aging.
• CEUS may detect early, subclinical renal perfusion changes associated with aging in horses.