Use of an x-ray beam-limiting cone to improve radiographic quality in diagnosis of traumatic reticuloperitonitis

To evaluate the quality and the diagnostic relevance of the radiographs of the reticular area obtained using an x-ray beam-limiting cone (LC), both conventional and LC images were analysed in 12 cows affected by traumatic reticuloperitonitis (TRP). The improvement in resolution, definition and contrast of the LC images and a clinical assessment of the diagnostic relevance of the procedure were scored. The use of LC improved the quality of the radiographs in 10 cases (83%) thanks to an improvement in the resolution (67%), definition (58%) and contrast (83%). The procedure was diagnostically relevant in 5 cases (42%), facilitating the detection of details not clearly visualised by previous conventional survey radiographs: a very thin foreign body responsible of TRF, a mass in the ventro-caudal contour of the reticulum, the exact position of the foreign bodies. A consistency test for the x-rays was performed in a clinically healthy cow to confirm the improvement in the radiographic quality determined by the procedure. Although conventional imaging is often sufficient to confirm diagnosis of TRP, the use of the LC improves the quality of reticular radiographs and in several cases can be fundamental for the identification of a thin foreign body or a lesion.