Thoracic injuries caused by blunt trauma are commonly encountered emergencies in veterinary medicine. However, no literature exists comparing radiography to computed tomography (CT) in blunt thoracic trauma caused by motor vehicle accidents in canine patients. The aim of this prospective case series was to estimate the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of thoracic radiography relative to CT for detecting lung contusions, pneumothorax, pleural effusion and rib fractures. The study further aimed to establish a severity scoring system for radiography and CT and to compare the findings between the two modalities. The hypothesis was that radiography would be less sensitive than CT at detecting these injuries and that radiography would underestimate the severity of lung contusions compared to CT. Fifty-nine patients met the inclusion criteria. Radiography underestimated the presence of lung contusions (Se = 69%, 95% Confidence interval (CI)) and overestimated the severity of the contusions relative to CT. There was also high interobserver variability in evaluating lung contusion severity (coefficient of variation = 91%). Both the three-view thoracic and horizontal beam radiography had poor sensitivities for the detection of pneumothorax (Se = 19% and 63% respectively) and pleural effusions (Se = 43% and 71% respectively). Similarly, the sensitivity (56%) of three-view thoracic radiographs for the detection of rib fractures was poor relative to CT. To conclude, three-view thoracic radiography had low sensitivity for pathology related to blunt thoracic trauma caused by motor vehicle accidents and CT could be considered as an additional diagnostic imaging modality in these patients. / Dissertation (MMedVet (Diagnostic Imaging))--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Companion Animal Clinical Studies / MMedVet (Diagnostic Imaging) / Unrestricted

Traumatic brain injury is a topic that in recent years has received increased scrutiny by the media and is viewed as a cause for public health concern in athletes that are participating in contact sports. There has been an apparent rise in the reported number of traumatic brain injuries over the last decade possibly due to a number of factors such as an increase in enrollment of sports and suspected better understanding of brain injury in the sports world. Direct or indirect impact forces applied involving acceleration/deceleration and linear/angular forces primarily cause trauma to the brain. This insult results in evident diffuse axonal and focal injuries to varying degrees in brain tissue. The spectrum of pathophysiology in traumatic brain injury involves structural, neurochemical, metabolic, vascular, inflammatory, immunologic, and ultimately cell death, which plays a hand directly in the nonspecific presentation of symptoms reported by athletes as well as the progression of recovery. Traumatic brain injury is typically associated with short- and long-term sequelae, however, inducing repetitive episodes of trauma over a career, as may happen in sports, may lead to a progressive neurodegenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy has been known to affect boxers previously, but in recent years the attention has shifted and found this disease in athletes from other sports. The spectrum of disease in chronic traumatic encephalopathy involves a progressive tauopathy that spreads across different regions of the brain in a classified four staged grading system. Several risk factors have been identified in placing athletes at risk for traumatic brain episodes, however no risk factors have been directly linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Much information is lacking in a complete understanding of traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, therefore emphasizing the importance of further research and consistently improving modifications in the protocols for assessment, recognition, management, and return to play criteria for injured athletes. Furthermore, despite the gaps in knowledge, preventative measures should serve a particular role in reducing the incidence of detected traumatic brain injuries, which should include policy changes, sport rule changes, and especially changes to the accepted sports culture through mandatory education.