Ultrasonographic findings may be useful for differentiating interdigital abscesses secondary to migrating grass awns and interdigital furunculosis in dogs

Marion Fenet, Catherine Layssol-Lamour, Charline Pressanti, Amaury Briand, Loic Desquilbet, Harriet Hahn

Background: The article aims to compare the ultrasonographic features of interdigital furunculosis and interdigital abscesses secondary to migrating grass awns in dogs, which are common diseases with similar clinical presentations but different treatments.

Study: The study is a retrospective, multicenter, analytical design that included 59 dogs with either interdigital furunculosis (IDF) or interdigital abscesses secondary to a grass awn migration (IAGA). The authors extracted epidemiological, clinical, and ultrasonographic data from the medical records and compared them between the two groups.

Methods: The authors used two ultrasound scanners and a linear multifrequency probe to acquire images of the affected interdigital spaces. Two observers blinded to the diagnosis reviewed the images and assessed nine qualitative and four quantitative parameters for each patient. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the significant differences and the diagnostic accuracy of the ultrasonographic criteria.

Results: The authors found that both diseases shared similar epidemiological and clinical signs, such as pruritus, lameness, wound, and discharging sinus. On ultrasound, a main hyperechoic multilinear element was identified in most dogs, which could correspond to a grass awn or a clump of hair. The authors identified several ultrasonographic criteria that could help differentiate the two diseases, such as the length of the main element, the absence of additional subcutaneous elements, the ability to display the multilinear element in a single plane, and the presence of a surrounding hypoechoic halo.

Limitations: The authors acknowledged some limitations of their study, such as the lack of a definitive histological diagnosis in dogs with interdigital furunculosis, the retrospective nature of the study, the limited clinical information in some patients, the retrospective evaluation of ultrasound images, and the exclusion of other types of plant-based foreign bodies.

Conclusions: The authors concluded that ultrasonography is a useful tool to differentiate interdigital furunculosis and interdigital abscesses secondary to grass awns, and provided specific ultrasonographic criteria to guide the diagnosis and treatment planning. They also suggested further prospective studies to evaluate the distribution pattern of the interdigital lesions and the intra- and interobserver variability of the ultrasonographic measurements.

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