ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Medicine
This article is part of the Research TopicCutting-Edge Technology in Veterinary Medicine - volume IIView all 9 articles
Comparison of ultrasound probe location and sonographic findings used for the evaluation of pneumothorax in canine cadavers: a pilot study
Provisionally accepted
Ashley Finch1
Soren R Boysen1
Valerie Madden2
Philippa J Johnson3
Madison Hillstead1Cole Harding1Katrine Gillett1
Julie Menard1*- 1Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- 2Paramount 24 hr Hospital, Calgary, Canada
- 3College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States
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This pilot study aimed to compare sonographic findings at thoracic sites used to detect pneumothorax (PTX) in canine cadavers. Intubated frozen-thawed cadavers without pre-existing sonographic evidence of pneumothorax were included. Control, unilateral and bilateral pneumothorax groups were created, with the latter induced by infusion of air (3ml/kg) under ultrasound guidance. Four blinded sonographers (two experts and two novices) evaluated positive-pressure-ventilated cadavers placed in sternal recumbency. Lung sliding (LS) and B-lines were assessed at the chest tube site (CTS) and caudo-dorsal border (CDB), while the abnormal abdominal curtain sign (AACS) was evaluated along the abdominal curtain sign (CS). When absence of lung sliding was noted, operators searched for a lung-point. Presence or absence of pneumothorax was recorded for the CTS, CDB, AACS, combined CTS + lung-point, and CDB + AACS + lung-point (PLUS). Post-study right and left horizontal beam radiography was used as the reference standard to quantify pneumothorax volume by a board-certified radiologist. Results were analyzed by Fisher’s exact test with a statistical significance set at P < 0.05. Mild pneumothorax was present in 10/16 hemithoraces, scant pneumothorax in 3/16, and no pneumothorax in 3/16. Combined accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of all operators was 22% (9-40), 4% (0-20), 100% (54-100)for both CTS and CTS + lung-point; 53% (35-71), 42% (23-63), 100% (54-100) for CDB; 31% (16-50), 15% (4-35), 100% (54-100) for AACS; and 56% (38-74), 46% (27-67), 100%(54-100) for PLUS, respectively. There was a significant difference in identification of pneumothorax between the CTS and CDB (P=0.00027), and CTS and PLUS LP (P=0.0012) and between CTS + lung-point and PLUS for all operator comparisons (P=0.00012).
Keywords: chest tube site 3, curtain sign 4, Lung point 5, lung sliding6, PLUS 2, POCUS1
Received: 17 Sep 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Finch, Boysen, Madden, Johnson, Hillstead, Harding, Gillett and Menard. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Julie Menard
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