Comparing 3 mm and 5 mm laparoscopic liver biopsy samples in dogs.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether 3&#x2009;mm cup biopsy forceps (CBF) provide equivalent diagnostic samples to 5&#x2009;mm CBF for histopathologic diagnosis, bacterial culture, and copper quantification. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical prospective study. ANIMALS: Ten client-owned dogs, presenting for laparoscopic liver biopsy (LLB). METHODS: Dogs underwent LLB, and paired samples were collected using 3 and 5&#x2009;mm CBF. Portal triad and hepatic lobule counts, crush and fragmentation artifacts, copper concentration, bacterial culture results, and agreement on histopathologic diagnosis were compared. RESULTS: Both CBF sizes allowed for easy sample collection and resulted in minimal hemorrhage. An average of 12.13 (confidence limit (CL): 9.4-14.9) and 17.84 (CL: 15.1-20.6) portal triads were obtained using a 3 and 5&#x2009;mm CBF, respectively (p&#x2009;=&#x2009;.0003). A portal triad count of 11 or more was achieved in 73.3% of the 3&#x2009;mm and 93.3% of the 5&#x2009;mm samples. Gwets AC1 coefficient showed a high level of agreement (0.8) for overall histopathologic diagnosis (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;.0001). The 3&#x2009;mm CBF crush scores were higher (median of the differences: -1; range: -1 to 1) (p&#x2009;=&#x2009;.035). There was no difference in fragmentation scores (p&#x2009;=&#x2009;.935). CONCLUSION: The 3&#x2009;mm CBF yielded smaller samples in terms of size and portal triad count compared with the 5&#x2009;mm CBF. However, the portal triad count was sufficient in a majority of samples and histologic agreement with the 5&#x2009;mm CBF was excellent. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: In dogs, a 3&#x2009;mm CBF yields adequate samples for histopathologic interpretation, copper quantification, and bacterial culture.