Retrospective Evaluation of the Radiographic Pulmonary Patterns in Small Animals in Ahmadu Bello University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Zaria from 2017-2024

Radiographic examination of the lung parenchyma is crucial in the clinical diagnosis of respiratory diseases and its interpretation can be challenging. The radiographic pattern of pulmonary diseases assists because these patterns can be strategized into various forms for specific differential diagnoses. This study aimed to evaluate the radiographic pulmonary patterns in small animals presented at Ahmadu Bello University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Zaria with complaints of respiratory diseases from 2017 to 2024. Two-dimensional thoracic radiographs of small animals were obtained as primary data from the archive of selected cases in the Diagnostic Imaging Center of Ahmadu Bello University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Zaria. A total of 70 thoracic radiographs were collected using a random sampling method, out of which, only 30 radiographs were observed with radiographic patterns in both dogs and cats. Of the 30 cases, 25 (83.3%) were dogs and 5 (16.7%) were cats. The pulmonary patterns observed in dogs were bronchial 7 (23.3%), alveolar 6 (20%), vascular 5 (16.7%), interstitial 2 (6.7%) and mixed patterns 5 (16.7%). While, the pulmonary patterns observed in cats were alveolar 2 (6.7%), vascular 1 (3.3%), and mixed patterns 2 (6.7%). From the results of this study’s radiographic pulmonary patterns, bronchial pattern was the most common radiographic pulmonary pattern in dogs. While alveolar and mixed patterns were the most common radiographic pulmonary pattern in cats.