Publications by authors named "Pamela Di Donato"

Background: Peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs) are a group of neoplasms originating from Schwann cells or pluripotent cell of the neural crest. Therapeutic options and prognosis are influenced by their degree of malignancy and location.

Hypothesis/objectives: Identify magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features predictive of PNST histologic grade.

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Intestinal lipogranulomatous lymphangitis (ILL) is a granulomatous inflammation of the lymphatic vessels of the intestinal wall and mesentery characterized by lipogranulomas. The purpose of this retrospective, multi-center, case series study is to report the ultrasonographic features of canine ILL. Ten dogs with a histologically confirmed ILL undergoing preoperative abdominal ultrasound were retrospectively included.

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Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) has been found to be more reliable in the detection of vessels and blood products than T2*-weighted gradient echo (GE) in several human brain diseases. In veterinary medicine, published information on the diagnostic usefulness of SWI is lacking. The aim of this retrospective observational study was to investigate the value of SWI compared to T2*-weighted GE images in a population of dogs and cats with presumed, MRI-based diagnoses grouped as neoplastic (27), cerebrovascular (14), inflammatory (14), head trauma (5), other pathologies (4), or that were normal (36).

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Background: Idiopathic renal hematuria (IRH) generally occurs in healthy large-breed dogs that are <2-years-old. It is characterized by recurrent bleeding from the kidneys of unidentified cause. The final diagnosis is reached through the exclusion of primary urinary system and systemic causes of hematuria along with the direct visualization by cystoscopy of hematic urine jets at the ureteral orifice.

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Objective:  Computed tomography (CT) is used complementarily to radiography for the evaluation of medial coronoid disease (MCD). We hypothesized that a slice thickness > 2 mm would significantly affect the image quality and detection of fragmentation of the medial coronoid process. This study aimed to assess CT features indicating direct and indirect evidence of MCD in 168 CT studies with slice thicknesses of 1-, 2- and 3 mm.

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Background: Brain injury with changes in clinical neurological signs and symptoms can develop while children are undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit. Critical care nurses routinely screen for neurological decline by using serial bedside neurological assessments. However, assessment components, frequency, and communication thresholds are not standardized.

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Objectives: Estimate the inter-rater reliability of critical care nurses performing a pediatric modification of the Glasgow Coma Scale in a contemporary PICU.

Design: Prospective observation study.

Setting: Large academic PICU.

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Neoplasia of the prostate is relatively uncommon in dogs with adenocarcinoma being the most common type. Non-epithelial tumors are rare and only individual cases of malignant lymphoma affecting the prostate have been reported. The purpose of this multi-institutional, retrospective, descriptive study was to characterize the ultrasonographic features of canine prostatic lymphoma.

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The normal sonographic thickness of the individual layers (ie, mucosa, submucosa, muscularis and subserosa-serosa) of the intestinal wall was evaluated in 20 clinically healthy cats. The mean thickness of the wall was 2.20, 2.

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A 9-year-old Giant Schnauzer was referred for polyuria and polydipsia. On abdominal ultrasound, a hyperechoic mass with low color Doppler signal was detected in the medial right hepatic lobe. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) demonstrated increased enhancement of the mass during the arterial phase, and contrast washout during portal and late phases with decreased enhancement relative to the liver.

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