Pelvimetry in the Teramana goat breed: a comparison between radiography and ultrasound

Radiography is routinely used for pelvimetry, but it is not easily accessible for farm animals, while ultrasonographic pelvimetry could be used due to the better accessibility and lack of radiation hazard. Radiographic and ultrasonographic pelvimetry in goats were compared, and three diameters of the pelvis were measured; the narrowest transverse pelvic diameter at the level of the acetabula, from the pecten pubis to the sacral promontorium and from the dorsal edge of the pubis to the coccygeal vertebra. The measurement was performed three times by one observer on both modalities. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analyses were performed. The intraobserver agreement was excellent for all the measurements and modalities in the study. Excellent agreement (ICC 0.96) was achieved for the transverse pelvic diameter. The agreement for the other two diameters was poor. We can conclude that the ultrasonographic pelvimetry of a goat is reliable only in the transverse pelvic diameter just cranial to the pecten pubis.