Diagnostic modalities for canine ascites

This study was conducted on clinical cases of refractory ascites to establish Color Doppler imaging for the diagnosis of ascites in dogs. All the animals were subjected to clinical, haematobiochemical, peritoneal fluid, radiographic and Doppler ultrasound examinations. The radiographic examination revealed a homogenous ground glass appearance with masking of the details of abdominal viscera, while in the ultrasonography, anechoic free fluid with floating abdominal viscera was a common finding in all the cases. The Color Doppler imaging of the abdomen in ascites dogs showed the dilated portal vein and portal hypertension, with a large amount of anechoic fluid with floating viscera. It can be concluded that Doppler ultrasonography is helpful to establish accurate diagnosis of ascites.