Prevalence and Features of Incidental Findings in Veterinary Computed Tomography: A Single-Center Six-Years’ Experience

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Through advanced diagnostic imaging such as computed tomography (CT), clinicians can obtain a diagnosis more easily, but they also may find unexpected imaging findings in different organs and tissues called “incidentalomas”. Veterinarians do not have clear evidence-based indications about what an incidentaloma is and how to manage incidentalomas, thereby increasing the risk of unnecessary investigations. This retrospective study aims to investigate incidentalomas in CT exams carried out over six years in a veterinary facility, and to describe the prevalence, sites, types of incidentalomas and their follow-up, their correlations or associations with the species, breed, sex, and age of the patients examined and with the anatomic location. Five hundred and sixty-one CT exams performed on 512 dogs and 49 cats were evaluated. There were 80 incidentalomas in 57 dogs and four cats. In dogs, the incidentalomas occurred particularly in Boxers and older animals, and more frequently in neck, thoracic, and abdominal scans. Spinal incidentalomas were the most common typologies in dogs. This study may allow for the growth of awareness about incidentalomas and can help veterinary clinicians set up the evidence-based clinical management of incidental findings. ABSTRACT: Computed tomography (CT) is an advanced imaging technique that may lead to detect “incidentalomas”, unexpected asymptomatic lesions found during unrelated examinations. Their clinical meaning and management are not clear for veterinarians, who risk unnecessary investigations that harm the patients. This study is a retrospective analysis that aims to investigate incidentalomas in CT exams and to describe their prevalence, location, types and follow-up, their correlations and associations with the species, breed, sex, and age of patients examined and with the kind and number of sites scanned. The reports of 561 CT scans performed in 512 dogs and 49 cats in a veterinary facility over six years were reviewed and compared to the clinical records of the patients. Eighty incidentalomas were found in 57 dogs and four cats. A significant positive correlation was found in dogs between age and the prevalence of incidentalomas. In dogs, the prevalence of incidentalomas was significantly higher in Boxers and in neck, thoracic, and abdominal scans. Spinal incidentalomas were the most common typologies in dogs. This study can represent a tool that allows clinicians to acquire greater awareness about incidentalomas and to carry out the evidence-based clinical management of them.