Comparison of transrectal and transabdominal transducers for use in fast localized abdominal sonography of horses presenting with colic.
Authors: Haardt Hanna, Romero Alfredo E, Boysen Søren R, Tan Jean-Yin
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Rapid point-of-care abdominal ultrasound (FLASH) has become increasingly valuable in equine emergency medicine, yet many practitioners only have access to rectal linear array transducers rather than the low-frequency curvilinear probes typically recommended for transcutaneous imaging. Haardt and colleagues compared the diagnostic capability of these two transducer types in 24 horses presenting with colic, with one operator using a rectal transducer whilst a separate clinician simultaneously scanned the same horse transcutaneously using a curvilinear probe. Both transducers performed equivalently for detecting peritoneal fluid, small intestinal abnormalities, and large intestinal wall changes—the most commonly encountered pathology in acute colic cases. However, significant differences emerged for visualising the left kidney (81.25% detection with curvilinear versus 22.92% with rectal transducers) and gastric abnormalities (87.5% versus 62.5%), suggesting that rectal transducers have notable limitations in assessing these structures during transcutaneous examination. For practitioners with only rectal equipment available, this work provides reassurance that FLASH remains diagnostically reliable for the majority of acute colic presentations, though awareness of reduced sensitivity for nephrosplenic entrapment and gastric pathology should inform clinical interpretation and guide decisions about pursuing advanced imaging when these conditions are clinically suspected.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •If you only have a rectal transducer, it will reliably detect free fluid, small intestinal problems, and colon/cecal changes—the most common findings in colic cases—but don't rely on it alone for ruling out nephrosplenic entrapment or stomach issues
- •Consider upgrading to a low-frequency curvilinear transducer if your colic cases frequently require assessment of the kidney region or stomach, as detection rates are substantially better
- •FLASH is practical for emergency use with either transducer type, but clinician experience and transducer limitations should inform your diagnostic interpretation
Key Findings
- •Low frequency curvilinear transducers (LFCT) detected left kidney and stomach abnormalities significantly more often than rectal format linear transducers (RFLT: kidney 81.25% vs 22.92%, stomach 87.5% vs 62.5%)
- •Both transducer types detected peritoneal effusion, small intestinal lesions, and large colon/cecal wall changes with similar frequency
- •Rectal format linear transducers are reliable for detecting common colic abnormalities but have limitations for nephrosplenic entrapment and gastric visualization
- •FLASH protocol is feasible with both transducer types in emergency colic assessment