Ultrasonographic Features of Grass Awns in the Urinary Bladder

Abstract

Grass awns are a common cause of foreign body disease in animals, but little is known about their presence in the lower urinary tract. The ultrasonographic features of grass awns in vivo and in vitro have been described in detail. The purpose of this report is to describe the clinical and sonographic features of grass awns in the urinary bladder of dogs and cats. Three male Yorkshire terriers (one of which was examined twice) and one female domestic short-haired cat were evaluated for signs of lower urinary tract disease, and an intravesicular grass awn was suspected based on ultrasound examination. The grass awn appeared ultrasonographically as a bladder stone (n = 1) or a linear hyperechoic structure (n = 4) with or without acoustic shadowing that was easy to identify due to contrast with surrounding urine. The presence of a grass awn within the urinary bladder was confirmed during exploratory surgery. In all patients, the route of entry of the grass awn was thought to have been retrograde migration from the urethral opening. The ultrasonographic appearance of grass awns in the bladder is consistent with that in other tissues.

A vaginal fornix foreign body in a bitch: a case report

“…Also, hunting, working and long-haired breeds, such as the dog described here, are overrepresented (Schultz and Zwingerberger 2008). Many localisations are reported (Brennan and Ihrke 1983;Cherbinsky et al 2010), but only one report exists describing a chronic grass awn migration in the vaginal lumen of a dog (Gatel et al 2014).…”

“…Grass awns are a common cause of foreign body disease in small animals, usually associated with complications such as abscesses or granulomas (Della Santa et al 2008). These vegetal foreign bodies are most frequently found in the external ear canal, subcutaneous tissue, conjunctiva, nasal and oral cavity, but can also reach the thoracic or abdominal cavity or sublumbar musculature by penetration of the body wall, ingestion, or inhalation and subsequent migration (Cherbinsky et al 2010). However, very little is known about their presence in the genital tract in the dog (Gatel et al 2014).…”

An uncommon localisation of a vegetal foreign body in a dog: a case report

“…Grass awns of the family Graminaceae, especially Avena sterilis (Schultz and Zwingenberger 2008), are frequently observed as foreign bodies in dogs and cats (Schultz and Zwingenberger 2008;Cherbinsky et al 2010;Vansteenkiste et al 2014), and are very common in Italy. The threat posed by these vegetal bodies to animals lies in their peculiar structure, characterised by the sharp point of the floret of the awn and the backward pointing of the barb (Schultz and Zwingenberger 2008;Cherbinsky et al 2010): the result is easy access to the affected area with an unpredictable route of migration (Vansteenkiste et al 2014).…”

“…(Schultz and Zwingenberger 2008;Vansteenkiste et al 2014). The most frequently affected areas are ears, feet, paws, nose, eyelids, eyes, thorax, abdomen and subcutaneous tissue (Schultz and Zwingenberger 2008;Cherbinsky et al 2010;Vansteenkiste et al 2014;Marchegiani et al 2017). Clinical signs may be helpful in localising grass awns (Vansteenkiste et al 2014), but usually the ultrasound imaging modality is more effective for the localisation and removal of these foreign bodies.…”

“…The threat posed by these vegetal bodies to animals lies in their peculiar structure, characterised by the sharp point of the floret of the awn and the backward pointing of the barb (Schultz and Zwingenberger 2008;Cherbinsky et al 2010): the result is easy access to the affected area with an unpredictable route of migration (Vansteenkiste et al 2014). These foreign bodies can migrate to different parts of the body, and they may result in direct damage to the affected area (Schultz and Zwingenberger 2008) and secondary infections caused by the transport of microorganisms like Actinomyces and Nocardia spp.…”