Introduction

The definitive diagnosis of canine hepatobiliary diseases required histopathology. To date, percutaneous ultrasound-guided tru-cut biopsy remains the most common technique to obtain the samples.

Objectives

The objective of the present study was to survey the prevalence of hepatic lesions of dogs in Thailand.

Methods

A survey of hepatic lesions in dogs with chronic elevated liver enzyme was conducted in 76 dogs (median age [range]: 10.8 years [1.7–16.5 years]; 42 (55.3%) females and 34 (44.7%) males) in Thailand during January 2016 - January 2018 using ultrasound-guided Tru-cut liver biopsy. The liver samples were processed for histopathology analysis. The associations between anemia (PCV<35) or thrombocytopenia (platelet <200,000/cumm) with liver lesions were also evaluated.

Results

Of these 76 dogs, there were 46 (60.5%) small, 21 (27.6%) medium, and 9 (11.8%) large breed dogs. The histological diagnosis revealed 41 (53.9%) with hepatitis, 9 (11.8%), 25 (32.9%) with fibrosis, 21 (27.6%) with vacuolar hepatopathy and 8 (10.5%) with steroid hepatopathy. There were 14 (18.4%) dogs with anemia, 14 (18.4%) dogs with thrombocytopenia, and 3 (3.9%) dogs with both anemia and thrombocytopenia. Dogs with liver tumors were associated with the presence of anemia (p=0.009). Older dogs (age >8 years) were associated with the presence of thrombocytopenia (p=0.003). There was only one (1.3%) dog with bleeding complication after the liver biopsy.

Conclusions

In conclusion, percutaneous ultrasound-guided Tru-cut liver biopsy is a safe and non-invasive method to diagnose canine hepatobiliary diseases. Caution should be taken in dogs with anemia and thrombocytopenia due to a possible bleeding complication after the biopsy.