Postoperative reduction in computed tomography perfusion-derived shunt fraction is associated with favorable prognosis in cats with congenital portosystemic shunt.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical feasibility and usefulness of CT perfusion (CTP)-derived shunt fraction (SF) for cats with congenital portosystemic shunts (PSSs) before and after surgery.

METHODS

All cats with PSSs were referred to our hospital for surgical treatment from April 2016 through August 2019. The shunt types were determined before surgery (first period), and SF was measured in each cat using a 320-row multidetector CT scanner. The SF was measured on postoperative days 14 (second period) and 75 (third period). The SFs were analyzed for shunt type, surgical procedure, and prognosis across all periods.

RESULTS

The study involved 8 client-owned cats with PSSs. In cats with PSSs, the SF during the third period was significantly lower than that during the first period. In cats with left gastrophrenic shunts, the SF during the third period was significantly lower than that during the first period. There was no significant difference between the periods in SF of cats with partial ligation. A significant reduction of SF was identified as a positive prognostic indicator.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that CTP was feasible for the measurement of SF in feline PSSs.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The CTP-derived SF may be useful for evaluating the surgical results of PSSs and may help reveal the pathophysiology of feline PSSs and evaluate prognosis.