Ultrasound and computed tomography of sacculitis and appendicitis in a rabbit

Abstract

A 9-month-old neutered male rabbit was referred for lethargy, anorexia, and gastrointestinal stasis. Routine hematology, serum biochemistry, and diagnostic imaging were performed. Computed tomography revealed a wall thickening of the sacculus rotundus and appendix, which was further confirmed on abdominal ultrasound. Full thickness biopsies were collected with histopathology diagnosing a chronic multifocal heterophilic granulomatous sacculitis and appendicitis. The patient was treated medically and at 6 weeks follow-up, clinical signs and intestinal changes had completely regressed. Inflammation of the sacculus rotundus and appendix should be considered as a cause of gastrointestinal stasis in rabbits.

Case Report: Spontaneous Appendicitis With Suspected Involvement of Klebsiella variicola in Two Pet Rabbits

“…There is only one published clinical case of appendicitis in a pet rabbit ( 9 ), and the rabbit was treated medically with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, prokinetics, and oral trimethoprim sulphate and metronidazole. Rabbits that were used as laboratory models of appendicitis were treated with intramuscular ceftriaxone and lincomycin daily for 5 days which decreased inflammation, but the rabbits were then euthanized ( 36 ).…”

“…Laboratory rabbits are commonly used as an animal model of appendicitis in man ( 6 , 7 ); however, spontaneous appendicitis was only described at postmortem in laboratory Japanese white rabbits ( 8 ) and antemortem in one pet rabbit with an acute abdomen ( 9 ). As per available literature, there is no therapeutic appendectomy and no bacterial pathogens were identified in the clinical case of appendicitis in rabbits.…”

Ultrasound morphology of cecal appendix in pet rabbits

“…It consents to differentiate mechanical stasis to functional ones, allowing to detect foreign bodies or indirect signs of mechanical ileus, as segmental fluid or gas accumulation within the stomach or part of the intestinal tract, and to individuate signs of inflammatory bowel disease [3,9,10]. In our opinion, the evaluation of the appendix has always to be included in abdominal ultrasound, because pathologies of the organ are reported [7,11]. In human medicine, the visualization of normal appendix on sonography is reported to appear advantageous in reducing the percentage of falsenegative cases of appendicitis.…”

“…Recently, a case of appendicitis and sacculitis in a 9-month-old male rabbit, diagnosed by means of ultrasonography and computed tomography, has been reported [7].…”

Safety of intravenous iodinated contrast medium injection in rabbits undergoing conscious computed tomography

“…In rabbits, definition of the soft tissue structures within the abdomen can be challenging. The use of intravenous contrast medium improves the level of detail and highlights conditions that are frequently diagnosed in rabbits such as gastrointestinal pathology including sacculitis and appendicitis, 5 liver lobe torsions (Figure 1a,b ), neoplasia and granulomatous diseases. It improves the level of detail in evaluation of ear base swellings, 6 dental abscesses and intracranial neoplasia (Figure 2a–e ).…”