Computed tomographic evaluation of pectus excavatum in 14 cats.

Renata Komsta,Piotr Twardowski,Anna Łojszczyk,Piotr Dębiak,Barbara Lisiak,Andrew Cuff

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0262866

Abstract

Pectus excavatum (PE) is one of the most frequently reported chest deformities. However, limited studies are available with regard to its CT scan findings in cats. In the present research computed tomographic images of the thoraxes of 14 cats diagnosed with PE has been reviewed. This is one of the first studies exploring the use of CT to characterise PE in animals. The aim of this study was to present characteristic CT features of PE in cats. The introduction of new criteria for better assessing thoracic wall deformity–a correction index (CI) and an asymmetry index (AI)–was also proposed. The study revealed a high variety of morphological features of PE in cats. It was demonstrated that among the 14 cats: cranial PE (an atypical location) occurred in seven cats while seven cats had typical (caudal) PE, long PE occurred in five cats, while short PE had nine cats. Of the 14 cats included in the study eight showed symmetric PE, and asymmetric PE was found insix. Thoracic asymmetry was found in six cats. Six cats had sternal torsion. Based on the Vertebral Index moderate or severe PE was revealed in 11 animals. In the group of cats studied the CI ranged from 12.20 to 32.11. The magnitude of AI did not exceed 10% in any of the cats studied. The study confirmed statistically significant differences in the CI values between groups of cats with different degrees of PE severity (p = 0.02). CT examination showed many PE features that have not been discussed so far. The main benefit of CT examination is its ability to reveal asymmetric PE, thoracic asymmetry and sternal torsion. CI and AI provided a clinically useful tool to quantify thoracic wall deformity in order to obtain comparable results between cats with PE.

Highlights

Pectus excavatum (PE) is a congenital anomaly of the thoracic wall, characterised by the inward deviation of the sternum and costal cartilage with a subsequent decrease in thoracic dorsoventral diameter [1,2,3,4]
Radiographic classification of the degree of PE in cats and dogs is determined with the use of the frontosagittal index (FSI) and the vertebral index (VI) [5, 10, 14]
In dogs diagnosed with PE, it has been documented that the VI is a more reliable gauge of the degree of thoracic depth reduction compared to the FSI [23]

Summary

Introduction

Pectus excavatum (PE) is a congenital anomaly of the thoracic wall, characterised by the inward deviation of the sternum and costal cartilage with a subsequent decrease in thoracic dorsoventral diameter [1,2,3,4]. The VI is the ratio of the distance between the centre of the dorsal surface of the vertebral body overlying the deformity to the nearest point on the sternum and the dorsoventral diameter of the same vertebral body [5, 10, 14]. These indices are used in human practice and adopted for use in veterinary medicine [11, 18]. A detailed analysis of the characteristic PE features visible in CT scans in cats is lacking in veterinary literature

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