Stephanie Lisciandro

Hill Country Veterinary Specialists

Objective To describe the finding of the lung ultrasound (LUS) “wedge sign” in dogs with presumptive pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). Case Series Summary This case series describes 2 dogs with predisposing risk factors of (1) right transvenous pacemaker terminating in its right ventricle, severe protein‐losing nephropathy, and glucocorticoid thera...

Please verify if FAST should be expanded at first use - "focused assessment with sonography for trauma"?: Global FAST consists of abdominal FAST, thoracic FAST, and Vet BLUE combined as a single point-of-care ultrasound examination used as an extension of the physical examination. By applying its unbiased set of 15 data imaging points, information...

Vet BLUE, a standardized and validated rapid lung ultrasound examination, includes 9 acoustic windows: 4 transthoracic bilaterally applied named Caudodorsal, Perihilar, Middle, and Cranial Lung Regions plus the Diaphragmatico-Hepatic view of AFAST/TFAST. Moreover, Vet BLUE has a B-line scoring system (weak positives-1, 2, and 3 and strong positives...

Background Ultrasonographically detected gallbladder wall edema (GBWE) is a marker for anaphylaxis in dogs. Cardiac disease can cause GBWE with similar signs and should be included as a differential diagnosis to prevent interpretation errors. Hypothesis/Objectives Document GBWE associated with cardiac disease. Animals Fourteen client‐owned animal...

This chapter shows how to perform the Vet BLUE lung ultrasound examination including relative anatomy, basic artifacts, the Vet BLUE B‐line scoring system, and briefly its regional pattern‐based approach. It covers its comparison to the other veterinary lung ultrasound (LUS) protocols and differences in B‐line scoring. The chapter explores the prin...

The use of the point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS) urinary bladder examination optimizes patient care and clinical course with improved diagnosis and recognition of abnormalities otherwise undetected by traditional radiographic means. This chapter discusses the uses and limitations of POCUS urinary bladder exam and describes how to perform POCUS urina...

This chapter describes Vet BLUE lung ultrasound signs and their clinical applications. It discusses the uses and limitations of Vet BLUE. Tissue sign is lung consolidation similar to the shred sign, but more severe. The tissue sign is complete consolidation without any aeration and thus appears a sliver (or spleen), referred to as hepatization of l...

Point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS) to evaluate the kidneys can provide valuable clinical information to the nonradiologist veterinarian to expedite diagnosis and treatment. With all POCUS abdomen‐related organ examinations, the concurrent use of an AFAST is recommended for further patient assessment. This chapter aims to recognize changes in echogeni...

The point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS) examination of the spleen is a valuable diagnostic tool for guiding clinical care and can be effectively performed by a nonradiologist veterinarian. This chapter discusses the uses and limitations of POCUS spleen and describes how to perform the POCUS spleen. When assessing the spleen, systematic evaluation shou...

The goals of using point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS) for evaluation of the liver include recognizing focal and multifocal mass lesions and evaluating diffuse parenchymal echotexture and obvious changes in echogenicity. This chapter discusses the uses and limitations of POCUS liver and gallbladder. The chapter describes how to perform the POCUS liver...

The focused urinary bladder exam recognizes abnormalities of the urinary bladder wall such as cystitis, polyps, and tumors. The exam also recognizes abnormalities within the urinary bladder lumen such as stones (calculi), sediment, and blood clots. Some indications for the focused urinary bladder exam include hematuria, dysuria, stranguria, signs o...

The goals of using focused ultrasound examination for evaluation of the liver include recognizing focal and multifocal mass lesions and evaluating diffuse parenchymal changes and changes in echogenicity. The goals for focused exam of the gallbladder include recognizing abnormalities of the gallbladder wall and luminal disease processes, and identif...

The focused kidney exam may be especially beneficial in patients with acute kidney injury or kidney failure of undetermined cause because it may be used to screen for several recognizable ultrasonographic conditions. Ultrasound has inherent weaknesses, and will not necessarily replace the use of abdominal radiography, tissue and fluid sampling, bac...

The focused spleen exam helps the clinician to recognize splenic masses which may be either focal or multifocal. The exam also helps the clinician to recognize parenchymal changes associated with diffuse splenic diseases. Some indications of the focused spleen exam include abdominal pain, hematological disorders and generalized lymphadenopathy. Whe...

Twenty-two cats with liver disease were evaluated for coagulation abnormalities including alterations in prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, factor VII activity, and platelet count. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of coagulation abnormalities in this population of cats, classify abnormali...