To scan or not to scan? Efficacy of transthoracic ultrasonography for ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma screening in a large commercial UK sheep flock

Davies, Peers ORCID: 0000-0001-6085-9763, Strugnell, Ben, Waine, Katie, Wessels, Mark, Cousens, Chris and Willison, Isobel (2022) To scan or not to scan? Efficacy of transthoracic ultrasonography for ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma screening in a large commercial UK sheep flock. VETERINARY RECORD, 191 (3). e1578-.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/vetr.1578

Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>Transthoracic ultrasonography (TTUS) is currently the only widely used method to diagnose preclinical or subclinical ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) in the live sheep. However, little is known about the test characteristics of TTUS.<h4>Methods</h4>One thousand and seventy-four breeding ewes in a flock with evidence of low OPA prevalence underwent TTUS by an experienced operator. Fifty-one sheep were diagnosed with OPA and underwent gross postmortem examination (PME).<h4>Results</h4>Lesions consistent with OPA were found in only 24% (12/51) of the culled ewes. Thirty-five percent (18/51) of culled ewes had gross lesions consistent with other pulmonary disease and 41% (21/51) had no detectable gross lesions on PME. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed OPA in only the 12 animals identified with OPA lesions from PME.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Great caution should be exercised when deciding if TTUS is an appropriate screening test in groups of sheep where OPA prevalence may be anticipated to be low. TTUS is a subjective test and thus individual operator ability will influence the sensitivity and specificity of TTUS for OPA diagnosis while the underlying prevalence influences the eventual positive predictive value.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Animals, Sheep, Pulmonary Adenomatosis, Ovine, Lung Neoplasms, Sheep Diseases, Ultrasonography, Female, Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus, United Kingdom, Adenocarcinoma of Lung
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	13 Apr 2022 11:24
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 21:05
DOI:	10.1002/vetr.1578
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.1578
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3152857