Clinical and pathological findings of adrenal incidentalomas in dogs

Abstract

This retrospective study carried out within the area of Veterinary Endocrinology aims to add knowledge to the study of adrenal masses found accidentally (incidentaloma) during the evaluation of dogs who were not initially suspected of adrenal disease. In order to obtain a real and broad perspective on the nature and biological behavior of these masses, this study analyzes the clinical findings of 26 cases of adrenal incidentaloma diagnosed in the Endocrinology Service of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and in the Endocrinology Service of the Atlántico Veterinary Center from 2005 to 2018, and compares these results with the pathological findings of 82 adrenal incidentalomas detected as incidental findings in the Diagnostic Necropsy Service of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from 2015 to 2017. The data collected from the medical history of the 26 patients, as well as the corresponding necropsy reports were analyzed and compared. Several epidemiological factors were studied including the relationship between the presentation of adrenal incidentalomas and the age, sex, weight or breed of the dog. The results suggest that certain individual characteristics of the patient as well as the clinical signs observed, the ultrasound characteristics of the mass and the results of hormonal tests will be decisive according to the establishment of a diagnostic plan and subsequent follow-up in a protocol that should be adapted to each patient, in whom an aggressive approach is not always justified.