Association between spinal cord compression ratio in magnetic resonance imaging, initial neurological status, and recovery after ventral slot in 57 dogs with cervical disc extrusion

This retrospective, unblinded, single rater study evaluated images obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of dogs with cervical intervertebral disc extrusion before being submitted to ventral slot decompression (VSD). Dogs were re-evaluated systematically at 10 and 30 days after VSD. The objectives of this study were to investigate the associations between the following parameters: (1) The maximal spinal cord compression ratio (SCCR) as seen on transverse MRI and pre-surgical neurological status (NS) grade; we hypothesized that dogs with greater SCCR will have worse pre-surgical NS grade at presentation; (2) Pre-surgical NS grade and postoperative recovery; we hypothesized that worse pre-surgical NS grade will be associated with longer postoperative recovery time; (3) SCCR and postoperative recovery; we hypothesized that dogs with higher SCCR will have longer recovery time; (4) Location of extrusion (cranial vs. caudal) and initial NS grade and outcomes; we hypothesized that caudal cervical extrusion will have worse NS grade and longer time to recovery; (5) Longitudinal extension of ventral CSF signal loss on HASTE pulse sequence and NS grade and time to recovery; we hypothesized that dogs with longer HASTE CSF attenuation will have higher NS grade and longer time to recovery. There was no significant association between SCCR and NS grade, suggesting that this relationship in the cervical region is similar to what is observed in the thoracolumbar region, rejecting our first hypothesis. There was a significant difference between ambulatory tetraparesis dogs versus non-ambulatory tetraparesis dogs regarding complete recovery at 10 days: dogs with NS grade 1, 2, or 3 overall recovered faster than dogs with NS grade 4. However, there was no significant difference between these groups regarding complete recovery at 30 days, thereby accepting our second hypothesis at 10 days and rejecting it at 30 days. There was no correlation between SCCR and recovery time, rejecting our third hypothesis. Caudal cervical extrusion did not show higher NS grade or longer recovery time than cranial extrusion, rejecting our fourth hypothesis. CSF attenuation length ratio on HASTE images was not significantly correlated with NS grade but weakly correlate with post-surgical recovery time, partially accepting our fifth hypothesis

Clinical and surgical studies of selected canine central nervous system diseases : cervical disc herniation and meningoencephalomyelitis

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Fabiano Montiani FerreiraTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Agrárias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias. Defesa : Curitiba, 20/06/2022Inclui referênciasResumo: A presente tese compreende dois capítulos, cada qual composto por um artigo cientifico distinto. Tais capítulos englobam temas relevantes da neurológica veterinária. Os dois estudos foram realizados pelo autor e orientador, por meio de pacientes oriundos do serviço de neurologia do hospital veterinário CLINIVET. O primeiro artigo cientifico denominado "Clinical Outcome After Ventral Slot Decompression for Cervical Disc Extrusion In 57 Dogs. An Analysis of Association Between Spinal Cord Compression Ratio in Magnetic resonance imaging, Initial Neurological Status Grade and Recovery After Surgery" este capítulo apresenta 5 objetivos principais para tentar responder questões ainda não bem esclarecidas e tem resultados inéditos que podem auxiliar os médicos veterinários que atuam na área da neurologia. O segundo capítulo possui o artigo cientifico denominado "An Etiological Study Of Presuntive Meningoencephalomyelitis In Dogs With Cerebral Spinal Fluid (Csf) Analysis And Neurological Panel (Pcr) Of 194 Cases" que tem como objetivo principal determinar a porcentagem de cães com meningoencefalites infecciosas e auto-imunes em Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, também auxiliando do ponto de vista epidemiológico médicos veterinários que trabalham na área de neurologia.Abstract: The present thesis encompasses two different chapters. Each one of these chapters comprises a distinct scientific manuscript, bringing relevant information about the veterinary neurology field. The two studies were carried out by the author and advisor through patients from the neurology service of the CLINIVET veterinary hospital. The first scientific paper called "Clinical Outcome After Ventral Slot Decompression for Cervical Disc Extrusion In 57 Dogs. An Analysis of Association Between Spinal Cord Compression Ratio in Magnetic resonance imaging, Initial Neurological Status Grade and Recovery After Surgery" this chapter has 5 main objectives to try to answer questions that are not yet well clarified and has unprecedented results that can help veterinarians working in the area of neurology. The second chapter has the scientific article called "An Etiological Study of Presumptive Meningoencephalitis in Dogs with Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Analysis and Neurological PCR Panel of 194 Cases" whose main objective is to determine the percentage of dogs with infectious and autonomic meningoencephalitis. -immune in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, also helping from the epidemiological point of view veterinarians working in the neurology field

Paraparesis secondary to erratic migration of Dioctophyma renale in a dog

ABSTRACT: A 4 years old mongrel stray bitch, weighing 16kg was submitted to physical examination to demonstrated inability of locomotion with the pelvic limbs. Extradural spinal cord compression was observed in myelotomography of the thoracolumbar segment. The patient was submitted to exploratory hemilaminectomy of T13-L1 and L1-L2, in an attempt to decompress the medullar segments. During the surgery was observed one adult parasite, identified as Dioctophyma renale , located in the extradural space and causing spinal cord compression. The patient was submitted to postoperative physical therapy, presenting clinical improvement 15 days after surgery, remaining on prone position and able to move the pelvic limbs, but not yet able to walk unassisted. It started walking naturally 60 days after the surgery. With the present clinical report, the erratic migration of the parasite Dioctophyma renale should be added to the list of differential diagnoses for patients with paraparesis and extramedullary lesion pattern, especially in endemic areas

A comparison between neurological clinical signs, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, cross-sectional CNS imaging, and infectious disease testing in 168 dogs with infectious or immune-mediated meningoencephalomyelitis from Brazil

This retrospective study evaluated canine patients with presumptively diagnosed meningoencephalomyelitis (ME) based on neurological clinical signs, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, cross-sectional imaging, and infectious disease testing with a limited neurological-focused polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panel performed on blood and CSF. The first goal was to determine the proportion of dogs where the condition was caused by an infectious agent versus a probable immune-mediated etiology (i.e., meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin; MUO) in our geographic region. The secondary goals of this study were to examine and define associations between abnormal CSF test results and cross-sectional neuroimaging findings, in addition to defining the age and most common neurological clinical signs in each group of ME. A total of 168 dogs matched the inclusion criteria with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed in 130 dogs and computed tomography (CT) performed in 38 dogs. Presumptive MUO was observed in 152/168 (90.5%) of dogs and infectious ME was identified in 16/168 (9.5%) of dogs ( p < 0.0001). Canine distemper virus (CDV) was the most common cause of infectious ME in 10/16 dogs (62.5%). Of the total cases with a positive infectious disease result, 3/16 (18.7%) had normal CSF results and 13/16 (81.3%) had abnormal CSF results ( p = 0.0078). MRI and CT abnormalities in the brain were detected in 74 and 39% of dogs with inflammatory CSF, respectively. MRI and CT abnormalities in the spinal cord were detected in 90 and 57% of dogs with inflammatory CSF results, respectively. Age was not significantly different between infectious ME and presumptive MUO groups ( p = 0.15). Seizures were the most common clinical sign reported for both MUO (36.8% of cases) and infectious ME (31.2% of cases). In conclusion, presumptive MUO is significantly more common than infectious ME in this population of dogs. Furthermore, although normal CSF results were uncommon in dogs with infectious ME, this finding occurred in several patients (3/16), suggesting that infectious disease testing should be considered even in the face of normal CSF results. Finally, MRI was more sensitive than CT in the detection of abnormalities when dogs with ME had inflammatory CSF results but was not 100% sensitive, suggesting CSF analysis should be performed to rule out inflammation even when no abnormalities are detected on MRI or CT

Extrahepatic portosystemic shunt in a 8 month-old female maltese dog<br/>Shunt portossistêmico extra-hepático em cadela maltês de 8 meses

The shunt portosystemic or portosystemic deviation (PSD) are unique or multiples vascular communications between the systemic circulaton and the portal circulation, that permit blood flow reaches the circulatory system without first passing trhought the hepatic metabolization. May be acquired or congenital and can also be classified as intrahepatic located within the liver or extrahepatic located outside the liver parenquima. The acquired form is usually associated with intra-hepatic disorders. They usually suggest tortuous vessels that communicate with the caudal vena cava in the region of the left kidney. The congenital form is associated with genetic lineage and one of the most affected is Maltese breed. This case report describes the diagnostis and treatment of a eight year-old female Maltese dog presenting extrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt. The patient showed signs of hepatic encephalopathy, such as restlessnees, weakness, deambulation, head tremor and impaired visual. Complementary exam demonstrated: postprandial glicemia near the lower limit of reference, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased and hipoalbuminemia. Ultrasonography revealed the presence of vesical calculus and bilateral kidney, liver decreases and increased echogenicity, gallbladder with anechoic content and high cellularity may suggest liver/ colangiohepatopatia and extrahepatic DPS was detected. The use of Doppler assisted in identifying the location of the bypass communication and the turbulence detecting the extrahepatic DPS. Protein-restricted diet and antibiotic therapy with amoxicillin achieved good results. The clinical treatment was decided make only the clinical and maintain the quality of life of the patient.O shunt portossistêmico ou desvio portossistêmico (DPS) são comunicações vasculares únicas ou múltiplas entre a circulação sistêmica e a circulação portal, que permite que o sangue portal chegue ao sistema circulatório sem antes passar pela metabolização hepática. Podem ser adquiridos ou congênitos e também podem ser classificados como intra-hepático, localizado dentro do fígado, ou extra-hepático, localizado fora do parênquima hepático. A forma adquirida normalmente está associada com distúrbios intra-hepáticos. Eles normalmente sugerem vasos tortuosos que se comunicam com a veia cava caudal na região do rim esquerdo. A forma congênita está associada a genética e uma das linhagens mais acometidas é a raça maltês. O presente relato de caso descreve o diagnóstico e tratamento de uma cadela maltês de oito meses de idade com Shunt portossistêmico extra-hepático. A paciente apresentava sinais de encefalopatia hepática, como: inquietação, locomoção apoiando-se nas paredes, compressão da cabeça contra a parede, tremores de cabeça e deficiência visual. Exames complementares constataram: glicemia pós-prandial próximo do valor inferior de referência, fosfatase alcalina (FA) e alanina aminotransferase (ALT) aumentadas e hipoalbuminemia. A ultra-sonografia revelou a presença de cálculo vesical e cálculo renal bilateral, fígado diminuído e aumento da ecogenicidade, vesícula biliar com conteúdo anecóico e alta celularidade podendo sugerir hepatopatia/ colangiohepatopatia e detectou DPS extra-hepático. O uso do Doppler auxiliou na localização do desvio identificando a comunicação e a turbulência certificando-se do DPS extra-hepático. Dieta com restrição protéica e antibioticoterapia com amoxicilina obtiveram bons resultados. Optou-se em fazer apenas o tratamento clínico e manter a qualidade de vida da paciente