Ultrasound indications
- Ascites: Both abdominal and echocardiographic exam indicated to rule out (R/O) common causes of right-sided heart failure, abdominal neoplasia, and hollow organ rupture.
- Heart murmurs: Congenital and acquired murmurs, assess function of cardiac muscle to guide treatment and establish prognosis, color flow and pulse wave Doppler can quantify degree of stenosis or insufficiency, recheck for treatment progress.
- Muffled heart auscultation: R/O pericardial effusion, cardiomegaly, heart base and atrial tumors.
- Coughing: R/O cardiac cause of cough.
- Syncope: Diagnosis of cardiac disease, pulmonary hypertension.
- Exercise intolerance
- Jaundice: Diagnosis of hepatic and post-hepatic cholestasis.
- Abdominal mass: Presurgical determination of organ of origin, presence or absence of metastases, fine needle aspirates for diagnosis.
- Organomegaly: Determine organ of origin, fine needle aspirates for specific diagnosis to determine treatment and prognosis.
- Pleural effusion: R/O mediastinal tumors, cysts, mediastinitis; lung lobe torsion, pleuritis, pleural and pulmonary neoplasia.
- Hematuria/stranguria: R/O radiolucent uroliths, renoliths, bladder tumor, polyps, diverticula.
- Chronic vomiting: R/O intestinal tumor, foreign body, IBD, intussusception, chronic and acute pancreatitis.
- Weight loss: search for occult neoplasia, causes for chronic vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, and proteinuria.
- Persistent anorexia: pancreatitis, neoplasia, other.
- Abdominal distension: Organomegaly, peritoneal effusion, pregnancy, guided abdominocentesis.
- Vaginal discharge: pyometra with inconclusive radiographs, pregnancy.
- Persistent estrus: Ovarian cyst.
- Abdominal discomfort: pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, neoplasia, organ distension, peritoneal disease, other.
