Radiographic and microscopic correlation of diffuse interstitial and bronchointerstitial pulmonary patterns in the caudodorsal lung of adult thoroughbred horses in race training.

Complete thoracic radiographic examinations were performed on 7 horses ranging in age from 24 to 60 months, followed by in-situ lung fixation. Radiographs were examined by 3 radiologists for the presence, degree and distribution of generalised pulmonary patterns within a region of interest in the caudodorsal lung. Pulmonary tissue was obtained from 12 sites within a designated volume of interest in the caudodorsal lung, corresponding to the area of interest evaluated radiographically, and examined for the presence, character and severity of microscopic lesions. Radiographic findings within the volume of interest consisted of mild to moderate bronchial, bronchointerstitial, or interstitial pulmonary patterns. Interstitial and bronchointerstitial radiographic findings were related to severity of peribronchiolar mononuclear cell infiltrates, the degree of bronchiolar mucosal plication, and alveolar capillary and peribronchial blood vessel erythrocyte content. The severity of the interstitial radiographic pattern was inversely associated with the perceived diagnostic quality of the radiographic examinations. There was no evidence of spatial variation in the severity of the microscopic changes examined in this limited pulmonary region. Inter-rater reliability between radiologists was good in the assessment of diagnostic quality of the radiographic examinations but poor in assessing severity of the primary generalised pulmonary patterns within the radiographic region of interest.