Evaluation of normal findings using a detailed and focused technique for transcutaneous abdominal ultrasonography in the horse

Table 1 Identification sites and repeatability of identification (%) of abdominal structures, imaged using a detailed transcutaneous ultrasonographic technique in five normal horses, repeated on five occasions (total of 25 examinations).

	Repeatability of identification (%) at each individual imaging site*
Abdominal structure	Right caudo-dorsal flank	Right caudo-ventral flank	Right cranio-dorsal flank	Right cranio- ventral flank	Left caudo-dorsal flank	Left caudo-ventral flank	Left cranio-dorsal flank	Left cranio- ventral flank	Cranio-ventral abdomen	Caudo-ventral abdomen	Repeatability of identification across complete examination (examinations identified / total number of examinations)**
Duodenum	72	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	72% (18/25)
Other small intestine	0	40	32	28	12	8	36	40	36	32	76% (19/25)
Caecum	100	88	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	100% (25/25)
Sacculated large intestine	56	95	12	100	100	100	84	100	100	100	100% (25/25)
Non-sacculated large intestine	32	4	88	0	12	0	44	0	0	0	92% (23/25)
Right kidney	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	100% (25/25)
Left kidney	0	0	0	0	88	0	0	0	0	0	88% (22/25)
Liver	0	0	100	80	0	0	0	16	0	0	100% (25/25)
Spleen	0	0	0	0	100	100	100	100	32	56	100% (25/25)

*The repeatability of identification (%) at each individual imaging site describes how often each abdominal structure was identified at each separate imaging site (across all 25 examinations (five horses examined five times)), i.e. where can you find this structure on ultrasonographic examination?
** The repeatability of identification across complete examination describes how often each abdominal structure was identified at any site during each examination (total of 25 examinations (five horses examined five times)), i.e. how often can you find this structure on ultrasonographic examination of the whole abdomen?
The site where each structure was most repeatedly identified, termed the best imaging site is highlighted in bold.

ISSN: 1746-6148