Excretory urography and urinary system diagnosis in domestic rabbits

Ultrasound and survey radiographs can be useful for the diagnosis of urinary function but their value is limited. Survey radiographs offer little insight into renal and upper urinary issues because of low tissue contrast while ultrasounds can be made difficult due to the gas build up common in gastrointestinal disease.

Contrast radiography and CT scans could help increase options for the diagnosis of urinary system pathologies so the authors of this study set out to describe excretory urography using these techniques. Thirteen healthy rabbits were subjected to a radiographic excretory urography (REU) and, 5 days later, to a Computed Tomography excretory urography (CTEU). A contrast medium was administered for 30 seconds at a rate of 0.3 to 0.5ml/s, depending on body weight.

The results indicated that the nephrographic phase in REU appeared between 34 and 40 seconds following the administration of the contrast medium and for the CTEU, the interval was 20 seconds. The pyelographic phase started at 1.63 minutes in both REU and CTEU, and the contrast medium was seen in the bladder in 2.20 minutes.

This study was limited by the small number of animals but revealed that excretory urography offers excellent opacification of images of the kidneys and urinary tract and that it could be an excellent aid in diagnosing urinary disease.

In Description and comparison of excretory urography performed during radiography and computed tomography for evaluation of the urinary system in healthy New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) Laura Vilalta et al; American Journal of Veterinary Research 2017