Abstract
The aim of this study was to establish the value of the renal resistive index (RI) of intrarenal arteries in healthy warmblood non-racing horses of different ages to assess the influence of physiologic factors and repeatability of measurement. The kidney ultrasonography examination was performed in three age groups: 15 foals, 15 adults and 15 elderly horses. The procedure was performed in unsedated standing animals. RI values were measured using pulsed-wave Doppler at the medial part of each kidney in the intrarenal arteries. To evaluate repeatability, all measurements were repeated two hours after the first examination. Statistical analysis of the relationship between groups was carried out using Fisher’s test. The relationship between the RI value and the physiological parameters was evaluated using linear regression. Repeatability of measurements was determined based on the Bland-Altman plot. The mean RI value in the studied horses was 0.48 ± 0.05 in the left kidney and 0.49 ± 0.05 in the right kidney. There were no statistically significant differences between the RI values in foals and adult horses. The elderly horses had a significantly higher RI value. Pulse pressure was the only physiological parameter affecting the RI value. The repeatability coefficient was 0.089 for the right kidney and 0.09 for the left kidney. The presented result suggest that elderly healthy horses have higher RI values than younger animals, which should be taken into account in clinical practice. The arterial pulse pressure should also be considered when interpreting RI values. The measurements have high repeatability, but in the authors’ opinion, this procedure is time consuming and requires experience.
Highlights
Numerous studies carried out on humans and small animals have demonstrated the potential use of several Doppler ultrasound parameters to improve clinical diagnostics of the kidney status [1]
One of them includes the resistive index (RI), a physiological parameter that indirectly reflects the degree of intraorgan vascular resistance, enabling the detection of kidney pathologies associated with renal vascular resistance [2]
No significant differences in the body mass, height and blood pressure were noted between adult and elderly horses
Summary
Numerous studies carried out on humans and small animals have demonstrated the potential use of several Doppler ultrasound parameters to improve clinical diagnostics of the kidney status [1]. Factors that affect the RI include age, blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate [5,8]. The groups of animals were very small in both studies and consisted of only Thoroughbred horses. This limits the detailed analysis of the factors that influence RI in horses. The objective of the study was to assess: 1) the normal value of the renal resistive index of intrarenal arteries in healthy warmblood non-racing horses, 2) the impact of age, body mass, heart rate and blood pressure on the intrarenal arteries resistive index, 3) differences in the RI between the left and right kidney, 4) measurement repeatability
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