COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC ADRENAL GLAND QUANTIFICATION IN CANINE ADRENOCORTICOTROPH HORMONE-DEPENDENT HYPERADRENOCORTICISM

摘要

We conducted a retrospective study to determine whether multidetector computed tomography (CT) could be of value for adrenal gland assessment in dogs with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism. Adrenal gland attenuation and volume values of 49 dogs with hyperadrenocorticism were recorded and age, body weight, and gender were examined to determine if a relationship existed between these variables and adrenal gland morphology. There was not a statistically significant difference in mean X-ray attenuation of the left vs. right adrenal gland in normal dogs (35.3pl6.1 HU), or in dogs with hyperadrenocorticism. The mean adrenal X-ray attenuation (pl standard deviation [SD]) in dogs with microadenoma was 33.1pl6.8 vs. 31.8pl12.7 HU for dogs with macroadenoma, and these values were not statistically different. The mean volume of the left adrenal gland in normal dogs (0.59pl0.17 cmpd) was greater than that of the right adrenal gland (0.54pl0.19 cmpd) (P<0.05). The mean CT volume (plSD) of the adrenal glands in dogs with microadenoma vs. macroadenoma were 1.60pl1.25 vs. 2.88pl1.60 cmpd, respectively. There was no effect of age or gender on adrenal gland morphology or X-ray attenuation. The weight effect was the most important source of variation for the volume measurement in dogs with hyperadrenocorticism.