Pulmonary ultrasound findings in a bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus population

Abstract

Lung disease is common among wild and managed populations of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus. The purpose of the study was to apply standardized techniques to the ultrasound evaluation of dolphin lungs, and to identify normal and abnormal sonographic findings associated with pleuropulmonary diseases. During a 5 yr period (2005 to 2010), 498 non-cardiac thoracic ultrasound exams were performed on bottlenose dolphins at the Navy Marine Mammal Program in San Diego, California, USA. Exams were conducted as part of routine physical exams, diagnostic workups, and disease monitoring. In the majority of routine exams, no abnormal pleural or pulmonary findings were detected with ultrasound. Abnormal findings were typically detected during non-routine exams to identify and track disease progression or resolution; therefore, abnormal results are overrepresented in the study. In order of decreasing prevalence, abnormal sonographic findings included evidence of alveolar-interstitial syndrome, pleural effusion, pulmonary masses, and pulmonary consolidation. Of these findings, alveolar-interstitial syndrome was generally nonspecific as it represented several possible disease states. Pairing ultrasound findings with clinical signs was critical to determine relevance. Pleural effusion, pulmonary masses, and pulmonary consolidation were relatively straightforward to diagnose and interpret. Further diagnostics were performed to obtain definitive diagnoses when appropriate, specifically ultrasound-guided thoracocentesis, fine needle aspirates, and lung biopsies, as well as radiographs and computed tomography (CT) exams. Occasionally, post mortem gross necropsy and histo pathology data were available to provide confirmation of diagnoses. Thoracic ultrasound was determined to be a valuable diagnostic tool for detecting pleural and pulmonary diseases in dolphins. KEY WORDS: Cetacean · Diagnostic imaging · Lung disease · Pulmonary Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 101: [243][244][245][246][247][248][249][250][251][252][253][254][255] 2012 gani 2011, Moore & Copel 2011, Stefanidis et al. 2011. General descriptions of dolphin thoracic ultrasound exams have been published in marine mammal textbooks (Stone 1990, Brook et al. 2001. However, there are currently no peer-reviewed publications on thoracic ultrasound techniques or findings in dolphins.A retrospective epidemiologic analysis of lung histopathology from the past 30 yr (1980 to 2010) of US Navy Marine Mammal Program data showed that the most common pulmonary pathology was pneumonia (Venn-Watson et al. 2012), which is similar to findings of wild dolphin necropsies (Baker 1992, Di Guardo et al. 1995, Cornaglia et al. 2000, Bogomolni et al. 2010. In both wild and managed dolphins, bacterial pneumonias have been reported often (Cusick & Bullock 1973, Sweeney & Ridgway 1975, Diamond et al. 1979, Tangredi & Medway 1980, Howard et al. 1983, Schulman et al. 1997, Miller et al. 1999, Dunn et al. 2001, Makara et al...

Slow recovery of Barataria Bay dolphin health following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2013-2014), with evidence of persistent lung disease and impaired stress response

“…In contrast to the slowly improving prevalence of moderate to severe lung disease was the increased proportion of AIS among BB dolphins in 2013−2014 and MS dolphins in 2013. Smith et al (2012) reported ultrasound evidence of AIS as consistent with pneumonia, pulmonary edema, and pulmonary fibrosis in dolphins. These findings could be secondary to an oil-induced injury.…”

“…Pulmonary damage and subsequent respiratory compromise would not be unusual for mammals several years following exposure to an oil spill. In fact, acute and chronic respiratory symptoms were reported in humans following inhalation exposure from multiple spills, including the Prestige, Hebei Spirit, Tasman Spirit, and DWH oil spills (Suárez et al 2005, Carrasco et al 2006, Janjua et al 2006, Zock et al 2007, 2012, Sim et al 2010, Jung et al 2013, Sandler et al 2014.…”

“…in flammation, anemia, hypoglycemia) suggests development of chronic conditions such as pulmonary fibrosis that wouldn't necessarily be accompanied by clinicopathologic abnormalities. AIS has also been associated with pulmonary fibrosis in dolphins (Smith et al 2012) and chronic interstitial diseases in humans (Smargiassi et al 2013); therefore, the development of a chronic and potentially progressive disease following oil-induced pulmonary injury should be fully explored. This outcome would not be unprecedented, as humans and animals exposed to oil mist and/or vapor have developed pulmonary fibrosis (Lykke et al 1979, Skyberg et al 1992.…”

“…Pulmonary ultrasound exams were performed utilizing the dorsal-ventral slide technique as previously described (Smith et al 2012). Pulmonary abnormalities were described as previously reported for dolphins (Smith et al 2012, including pleural effusion, alveolar-interstitial syndrome (AIS), pulmonary masses, pulmonary nodules, and pulmonary consolidation.…”

“…Pulmonary ultrasound exams were performed utilizing the dorsal-ventral slide technique as previously described (Smith et al 2012). Pulmonary abnormalities were described as previously reported for dolphins (Smith et al 2012, including pleural effusion, alveolar-interstitial syndrome (AIS), pulmonary masses, pulmonary nodules, and pulmonary consolidation. AIS was graded as mild, moderate, or severe as follows: mild: occasional clusters of ring-down artifacts; moderate: frequent clusters of ring-down artifacts, distributed throughout the dorsal, ventral, or entire lung field; or severe: contiguous ring-down artifacts that created a 'white-out' effect and loss of reverberation artifact, detected in multiple areas (Fig.…”