Doppler ultrasonographic assessment of uterine arteries during normal feline puerperium

P.G. BLANCO; R. RODRÍGUEZ; F. SCARPONE; A. CARRANZA; P.R. BATISTA; D.O. ARIAS; C. GOBELLO

Toulouse

Congreso; 16th European Veterinary Society for Small Animal Reproduction Congress; 2013

European Veterinary Society for Small Animal Reproduction

Introduction and aim. In feline species, there is only one ultrasonographic report of normal uterine involution during puerperium (1). Although, characterization of postpartum uterine blood flow by Doppler ultrasound will probably contribute to the early diagnosis of postpartum diseases, this technique has not been described in puerperal queens so far. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe Doppler ultrasonographic changes of uterine arteries during normal feline puerperium. Materials and methods. Six healthy, 1-4 years of age, weighing 2.5-3.9 kg, domestic short-hair pregnant queens, belonging to the Institutional cat colony of the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, were ultrasonographically assessed on days -4, 4, 11, 18 and 25 (day 0 defined as the day of parturition). Bidimensional ultrasonography was used to identify the uterine body in a transversal axis. Uterine arteries were localized at both sides of the uterine body with color flow mapping and pulsed-wave Doppler was used to obtain the waveforms. Peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end diastolic velocity (EDV) were measured. Resistance index (RI) [(PSV−EDV)/PSV] was automatically calculated. Total horns diameters (TD) were measured immediately after body bifurcation and both horns were averaged. Values of RI and TD were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA followed by Tukey comparison test (SPSS 18.0; SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). A correlation analysis was also carried out between RI and TD. P