OBJECTIVES

 Establish a premature diagnosis of PKD based on ultrasonography.

 Know incidence of PKD in Persian cats in Barcelona metropolitan area.

 Assess Persian breeders of the presence of this inherited disease in their cats before reproduction, and as soon as possible.

MATERIALS

 Animals: 112 Persian cats with ages from 3 months to 8 years were submitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona for ultrasound examination.

 Ultrasound device Acuson (Computed Sonography 128 XP/10) with linear transducer of 10 MHz and vectorial transducer of 7 MHz.

 Both kidneys were scanned with the 7 MHz transducer and then with the 10 MHz transducer.

 In PKD positive cats liver was scanned either to observe the incidence of hepatic cysts.

RESULTS

 53 cats were positive (47,3%).

 2 young cats tested were negative at 3 months old-in the Teaching Hospital-and retested nine months later became positive for PKD.

 Cysts size was variable, from 1-2 mm to 1cm.

 Only two cats presented clinical signs suggestive of renal insufficiency at the time of diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

 Ultrasonography is a reliable method to diagnose PKD in Persian cats.

 Positive diagnosis may be obtained for false negative cats previously tested with less sensitive transducers.

 PKD must be ruled out by means of ultrasonography (provided that a more sensitive method is not available) before breeding Persian cats.

 PKD might not be ruled out based on abdominal ultrasonography in cats younger than 1 year.

 Transducer sensitivity and ultrasound device performance have to be high enough to be applied to PKD diagnosis.