VetVirtopsy by CT and MRI–Complementing conventional necropsy

Abstract

• Imaging detects the cause of death in a majority of deceased dogs and cats. • Conventional necropsies are not competed; however, they can be simplified and supplemented. • In cases of space-occupying lesions and trauma, imaging finds the causes of death most reliably. • In cases with systemic inflammatory disease, it is most difficult for imaging to arrive at a correct diagnosis. Post mortem (PM) examination of euthanized or deceased individual animals or a herd is important to clarify forensic cases, confirm or correct clinical diagnosis, and improve future therapeutic approaches. The aim of this descriptive study is to evaluate PM imaging by CT and MRI (VetVirtopsy) and to compare the results to conventional necropsy. Hundred deceased or euthanized dogs and cats (47 dogs, 53 cats) of different age, breed, and body weight from the Small Animal Clinic of the University of Zurich underwent VetVirtopsy followed by a conventional necropsy and histologic examination with investigators unblinded to VetVirtopsy. All animals were examined by PM whole body CT (PMCT), 31 of them also by MRI (PMMRI) in selected regions. The findings of VetVirtopsy were compared with the pathology report as the gold standard. In a majority of cases of 81% VetVirtopsy detected the cause of death. The agreement was high in cases with trauma and space occupying lesions and low in systemic inflammatory diseases. VetVirtopsy produced 336 (Median: 3, Min: 1, Max: 11) additional findings in multiple organs. The strengths of VetVirtopsy in supporting conventional necropsy lie in the detection of trauma and space-occupying lesions. Advantageous is the detailed overview, whereby the relevance of the findings must remain in focus. VetVirtopsy could be very helpful in cases without owner consent for dissection. In systemic inflammatory events, disease with discrete, morphologic changes, or in contagious, at most zoonotic cases, it would need imaging-guided specimen sampling.