Imaging diagnostic in the clinic of wild animals in Fortaleza/CE

Abstract

The requests for imaging procedures have increased significantly in wild animal Veterinary Medicine. The most used exams at the clinic for non-conventional pets are ultrasonography and radiography due to their easy access and low cost compared to other imaging exams. Due to the need for veterinarians to understand the possibilities that imaging exams bring to the clinical routine of wild and exotic animals and the lack of data on the specific topic of services for unconventional pets from Fortaleza, the present work aims to evaluate the casuistry of radiography and ultrasonography as complementary exams at the clinic of non-conventional pets in Fortaleza, Ceará. For that, a data survey was carried out with two autonomous veterinarians in Fortaleza on the use of radiology and ultrasonography in non-conventional pets from January 2017 to september 2021. A total of 155 imaging exams were obtained, including 119 ultrasonographic exams and 36 radiographic exams. In the radiographic examination, it was found that the most frequent class was birds (58.3%), showing a greater number of changes related to the digestive system. In the ultrasound examination, the prevalence was of mammals, but most changes were located in the digestive system as well. This study evidenced the need to prepare the veterinarian for a variety of species for which exams are requested, as well as which changes are more frequent in the casuistry of Fortaleza/CE, according to the taxonomic class.