Ultrasonographic findings in calves with respiratory disease

The aim of this study was to assess the value of ultrasonography as an imaging technique for the assessment of respiratory diseases in calves. Postmortem findings were used as a ‘gold standard’. Eighteen calves aged up to five months which suffered from pneumonia or bronchopneumonia were used. Ultrasonographic and postmortem findings were recorded in eight segments of the lungs of each animal and compared. Ultrasonography of healthy pulmonary tissue yielded only the pleural reflective band and repetitive artefacts. Pulmonary tissue with bronchopneumonia was detected as a basic echogenic pattern containing hyperechogenic zones. The sensitivity and specificity of the technique for the detection of bronchopneumonia were calculated to be 0.85 and 0.98, respectively.