Post-Mortem Computed Tomography Pulmonary Findings in Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)

Nienke W Kuijpers; Linde van Schalkwijk; Lonneke L IJsseldijk; Dorien S Willems; Stefanie Veraa

doi:10.3390/ani12111454

Post-Mortem Computed Tomography Pulmonary Findings in Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)

Nienke W Kuijpers
, Linde van Schalkwijk
, Lonneke L IJsseldijk
, Dorien S Willems
, Stefanie Veraa

VPDC Pathology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The application of whole-body post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) in veterinary and wildlife post-mortem research programs is advancing. A high incidence of pulmonary pathology is reported in the harbor porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena). In this study, the value of PMCT focused on pulmonary assessment is evaluated. The objectives of this study were to describe pulmonary changes as well as autolytic features detected by PMCT examination and to compare those findings with conventional necropsy. Retrospective evaluation of whole-body PMCT images of 46 relatively fresh harbor porpoises and corresponding conventional necropsy reports was carried out, with a special focus on the respiratory tract. Common pulmonary PMCT findings included: moderate (24/46) to severe (19/46) increased pulmonary soft tissue attenuation, severe parasite burden (17/46), bronchial wall thickening (30/46), and mild autolysis (26/46). Compared to conventional necropsy, PMCT more frequently identified pneumothorax (5/46 vs. none), tracheal content (26/46 vs. 7/46), and macroscopic pulmonary mineralization (23/46 vs. 11/46), and provided more information of the distribution of pulmonary changes. These results indicate that PMCT adds information on pulmonary assessment and is a promising complementary technique for necropsy, despite the frequent presence of mild autolytic features.

Original language	English
Article number	1454
Pages (from-to)	1-14
Journal	Animals
Volume	12
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12111454
Publication status	Published - 1 Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Necropsies of harbour porpoises in The Netherlands are commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, and since 2016 embedded under the Legal Research Tasks Nature & Environment unit of Wageningen UR (project reference numbers 140000353, WOT-04-009-045)Acknowledgments: We would like to thank all organizations and volunteers included in the Dutch Stranding Network, for reporting and collecting stranded harbor porpoises. The authors would like to thank the technicians of the Diagnostic Imaging Division for scanning all harbor porpoises and students and staff of the Pathology Division for assistance during the post-mortem investigations and administrative tasks.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

cetacean
virtopsy
necropsy
pulmonary pathology
decomposition

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animals-12-01454-v3Final published version, 6.37 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Post-Mortem Computed Tomography Pulmonary Findings in Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)",

abstract = "The application of whole-body post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) in veterinary and wildlife post-mortem research programs is advancing. A high incidence of pulmonary pathology is reported in the harbor porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena). In this study, the value of PMCT focused on pulmonary assessment is evaluated. The objectives of this study were to describe pulmonary changes as well as autolytic features detected by PMCT examination and to compare those findings with conventional necropsy. Retrospective evaluation of whole-body PMCT images of 46 relatively fresh harbor porpoises and corresponding conventional necropsy reports was carried out, with a special focus on the respiratory tract. Common pulmonary PMCT findings included: moderate (24/46) to severe (19/46) increased pulmonary soft tissue attenuation, severe parasite burden (17/46), bronchial wall thickening (30/46), and mild autolysis (26/46). Compared to conventional necropsy, PMCT more frequently identified pneumothorax (5/46 vs. none), tracheal content (26/46 vs. 7/46), and macroscopic pulmonary mineralization (23/46 vs. 11/46), and provided more information of the distribution of pulmonary changes. These results indicate that PMCT adds information on pulmonary assessment and is a promising complementary technique for necropsy, despite the frequent presence of mild autolytic features. ",

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author = "Kuijpers, \{Nienke W\} and \{van Schalkwijk\}, Linde and IJsseldijk, \{Lonneke L\} and Willems, \{Dorien S\} and Stefanie Veraa",

note = "Funding Information: Necropsies of harbour porpoises in The Netherlands are commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, and since 2016 embedded under the Legal Research Tasks Nature \& Environment unit of Wageningen UR (project reference numbers 140000353, WOT-04-009-045)Acknowledgments: We would like to thank all organizations and volunteers included in the Dutch Stranding Network, for reporting and collecting stranded harbor porpoises. The authors would like to thank the technicians of the Diagnostic Imaging Division for scanning all harbor porpoises and students and staff of the Pathology Division for assistance during the post-mortem investigations and administrative tasks. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",

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AU - Willems, Dorien S

AU - Veraa, Stefanie

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N2 - The application of whole-body post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) in veterinary and wildlife post-mortem research programs is advancing. A high incidence of pulmonary pathology is reported in the harbor porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena). In this study, the value of PMCT focused on pulmonary assessment is evaluated. The objectives of this study were to describe pulmonary changes as well as autolytic features detected by PMCT examination and to compare those findings with conventional necropsy. Retrospective evaluation of whole-body PMCT images of 46 relatively fresh harbor porpoises and corresponding conventional necropsy reports was carried out, with a special focus on the respiratory tract. Common pulmonary PMCT findings included: moderate (24/46) to severe (19/46) increased pulmonary soft tissue attenuation, severe parasite burden (17/46), bronchial wall thickening (30/46), and mild autolysis (26/46). Compared to conventional necropsy, PMCT more frequently identified pneumothorax (5/46 vs. none), tracheal content (26/46 vs. 7/46), and macroscopic pulmonary mineralization (23/46 vs. 11/46), and provided more information of the distribution of pulmonary changes. These results indicate that PMCT adds information on pulmonary assessment and is a promising complementary technique for necropsy, despite the frequent presence of mild autolytic features.

AB - The application of whole-body post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) in veterinary and wildlife post-mortem research programs is advancing. A high incidence of pulmonary pathology is reported in the harbor porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena). In this study, the value of PMCT focused on pulmonary assessment is evaluated. The objectives of this study were to describe pulmonary changes as well as autolytic features detected by PMCT examination and to compare those findings with conventional necropsy. Retrospective evaluation of whole-body PMCT images of 46 relatively fresh harbor porpoises and corresponding conventional necropsy reports was carried out, with a special focus on the respiratory tract. Common pulmonary PMCT findings included: moderate (24/46) to severe (19/46) increased pulmonary soft tissue attenuation, severe parasite burden (17/46), bronchial wall thickening (30/46), and mild autolysis (26/46). Compared to conventional necropsy, PMCT more frequently identified pneumothorax (5/46 vs. none), tracheal content (26/46 vs. 7/46), and macroscopic pulmonary mineralization (23/46 vs. 11/46), and provided more information of the distribution of pulmonary changes. These results indicate that PMCT adds information on pulmonary assessment and is a promising complementary technique for necropsy, despite the frequent presence of mild autolytic features.

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KW - pulmonary pathology

KW - decomposition

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JF - Animals

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M1 - 1454

ER -

Post-Mortem Computed Tomography Pulmonary Findings in Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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