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Anal sacculiths may be an incidental finding in dogs
Author(s) -
Heng Hock Gan,
Lim Chee Kin,
Fulkerson Caroline V.,
Fulkerson Christopher M.,
Weng HsinYi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
veterinary radiology and ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.541
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1740-8261
pISSN - 1058-8183
DOI - 10.1111/vru.12931
Subject(s) - medicine , hounsfield scale , confidence interval , nuclear medicine , radiology , computed tomography
Mineral‐attenuating material is occasionally seen in the anal sacs of dogs during abdominal CT studies. This retrospective, descriptive study was performed to estimate the prevalence and CT appearance of this mineral‐attenuating material. A total of 357 abdominal CTs were reviewed retrospectively. The mineral‐attenuating material was most easily identifiable using the brain window setting (window width: 120 HU; window level: 40 HU). In the current study, the prevalence of mineral‐attenuating material in the anal sacs was 7.6% (95% confidence interval, 5.0‐10.8%) with 48.1% bilateral involvement and equal distribution in the right and left in dogs with unilateral involvement. Successful collection and material analysis were performed in three dogs. The material was determined to be 100% dried blood, 100% waxy matter, and a “small amount of fat enmeshed in unidentified noncrystallined material.” Given the CT appearance and the Hounsfield unit of these mineral‐attenuating material within the anal sacs, the term “anal sacculiths” is proposed. All dogs with anal sacculiths within this study population did not have any reported disease of the anal sacs.