Determination of Doppler ultrasonographic indices of abdominal aorta and renal artery in cat

The aim of this study was to determine abdominal aorta and intrarenal arteries Doppler indices by duplex Doppler ultrasonography in clinically normal adult domestic shorthair cats. For this purpose, twenty domestic shorthair cats (10 males and 10 females) were evaluated. To determine normal kidney function, ultrasound-guided core biopsy of both right and left kidneys was performed and histopathologic samples were taken. B-mode, color Doppler and pulsed wave Doppler ultrasonography of both right and left kidneys were performed to record the Doppler indices of intrarenal arteries. In the next step, the abdominal aortic lumen diameter was measured and its Doppler indices were also recorded. Mean ± SD RI and PI of the right and left intrarenal arteries were 0.58 ± 0.03, 0.6 ± 0.02, 1.02 ± 0.09 and 1.04 ± 0.07, respectively. The mean ± SD diameter of abdominal aortic lumen was 0.37 ± 0.06. PI and RI values of abdominal aorta were 0.79 ± 0.05 and 1.93± 0.37, respectively. The results of current study may be considered as reference range of Doppler indices of the abdominal aorta and intrarenal arteries in domestic shorthair cats. In addition, these values are helpful in comparison with pathologic conditions.