A Retrospective Study Correlating Modified Radiological Chest Volume and ‎Vertebral Heart Score with Pulmonary Patterns in Dogs

Veterinary practices rely on the Vertebral Heart Score (VHS) to determine cardiac silhouette size. In addition to cardiac silhouette, pulmonary patterns are examined to determine if clinical signs such as coughing are of cardiac or respiratory origin. Concept of interpreting pulmonary patterns are based on the anatomical structure involved within the lung parenchyma to make assumptions of manifestation of diseases. Modified Radiographic Chest Volume (mRCV) and Vertebral Heart Score (VHS) were retrospectively evaluated for correlation with pulmonary patterns in dogs. Patient data and thoracic radiographs were obtained from the digital repository of selected veterinary clinics in Malaysia. Findings revealed that there are wide variations in VHS and are significantly associated with pulmonary patterns (p < 0.05). Mean VHS values of 10.5 ± 1.2, and variations in mean mRCV across breed (26.74 ± 16.71) were observed. The mRCV weakly correlated with VHS denoting that changes in cardiac sizes does not necessarily synergise with lung volume. Therefore, it is recommended to evaluate pulmonary patterns alongside VHS while interpreting thoracic radiographs for cardiorespiratory diseases.