• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.18-22
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• 2012

This study was performed to evaluate the sensitivity of conventional film-screen radiography (CFSR) and direct digital radiography (DDR) for detection of various amounts of free peritoneal fluid. Ten adult male healthy beagles were used in this study. Radiographic examinations were performed in the right lateral and ventrodorsal positions. Fluid was injected in increments of 2.0 ml/kg of body weight up to 20.0 ml/kg of body weight. The images of CFSR and DDR were evaluated by two veterinary radiologists for evidence of abdominal fluid without knowledge of injected fluid volume. Data were evaluated by using the receiver operation curve (ROC) analysis and the area under the curve (AUC). There was no significant difference in detection of peritoneal fluid between DDR and CFSR in the ROC analysis. The accuracy of CFSR (0.805) was relatively higher than that of DDR (0.733), based on the ROC analysis and AUC. AUC of CFSR was higher in most injection doses. These results suggest that CFSR is more accurate than DDR for the detecting peritoneal fluid. Therefore, for situation in which digital radiographs are equivocal or small amount of fluid is suspected, other imaging modalities, such as ultrasonography would be helpful for determining the presence of fluids.