Research Communications of the 27(th) ECVIM-CA Congress: Intercontinental, Saint Julian's, Malta, 14th to 16th September 2017

In all dogs, the duodenal vascularization pattern was characterized by an initial rapid enhancement of the submucosal layer, followed by a gradual enhancement of the mucosa. Serosa and muscularis propria showed poor enhancement. We identified 2 patterns at peak enhancement: (i) complete enhancement of the submucosal and mucosal layers without subjective demarcation between the wall layers; (ii) incomplete enhancement of the mucosal layer that had a non-homogeneous, pointed, or streaked appearance. Dogs had similar perfusion patterns whether conscious or anesthetized. We quantitatively analyzed enhancement only in anesthetized dogs because of improved image quality. Analysis revealed a 50% reduced peak enhancement intensity, reduced regional blood flow and reduced regional blood volume in dogs with CIBDAI scores >6 (n = 4). These dogs all showed the non-homogeneous, pointed or streaked pattern. However, we found no relationship between perfusion patterns/parameters and endoscopic or histopathological findings.