Background
Reports describing sciatic nerve injuries (SNI) and their outcome are scarce in veterinary medicine.
Hypothesis
Describe the causes of traumatic and iatrogenic SNI and evaluate which ...clinical and electrodiagnostic findings predict outcome.
Animals
Thirty‐eight dogs and 10 cats with confirmed SNI referred for neurologic and electrodiagnostic evaluation.
Methods
Clinical and electrodiagnostic examination results, including electromyography (EMG), motor nerve conduction studies, muscle‐evoked potential (MEP), F‐waves, sensory nerve conduction studies, and cord dorsum potential (CDP), were retrospectively evaluated. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed based on owner interviews.
Results
Surgery (42%) and trauma (33%) were the most common causes of SNI; in dogs, 24% were caused by bites from wild boars. Ability to flex and extend the tarsus was significantly associated with positive outcome in dogs. Mean time from onset of clinical signs until electrodiagnostic evaluation was 67 ± 65 (range, 7‐300) days and 65 ± 108 (range, 7‐365) days for dogs and cats, respectively. A cut‐off amplitude of 1.45 mV for compound motor action potentials (CMAP) was predictive of positive outcome in dogs (P = .01), with sensitivity of 58% and specificity of 100%.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
Clinical motor function predicts recovery better than sensory function. Electrodiagnostic findings also may play a role in predicting the outcome of SNI. Application of the proposed CMAP cut‐off amplitude may assist clinicians in shortening the time to reassessment or for earlier suggestion of salvage procedures. Owners perceived a good quality of life (QoL), even in cases of hindlimb amputation.
Acute canine polyradiculoneuritis (ACP) is a common peripheral neuropathy in dogs, and is generally self-limiting and benign. Electrodiagnostic (EDX) tests are typically performed after 7-10 days. ...Delaying the definitive diagnosis may hamper the treatment of other causes of acute weakness, which may require specific treatments and may carry different prognoses. This retrospective multicenter study aims to assess whether EDX performed within the first 6 days of clinical signs onset can detect alterations indicative of ACP, and aims to characterize the most prevalent alterations. A total of 71 dogs with suspected ACP were retrospectively analyzed and classified into two groups based on EDX timing: early group (EG, 1-6 days after symptom onset) and late group (LG, 7-15 days after symptom onset). In our study, no significant differences were found between the two groups in motor nerve conduction studies (MNCSs) and F-wave analysis, indicating that EDX is able to demonstrate abnormalities even in the first 6 days from onset. Although the LG showed significantly greater degrees of electromyographic (EMG) alterations compared to the EG, frequent muscle alterations were still observed in the EG group. These findings support the use of EDX in patients with suspected ACP within the first 6 days from the clinical onset. Prompt neurophysiological examinations for suspected ACP patients can be performed effectively and can help allow for early diagnosis and facilitate appropriate treatment.
Epileptic seizures triggered by eating in dogs Brocal, Josep; Lowrie, Mark; Wamsley, Gemma ...
Journal of veterinary internal medicine,
20/May , Letnik:
34, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Background
Seizures triggered by eating (STE) behavior are very rare in humans and have not been documented previously in dogs.
Objectives
To document the occurrence of STE in dogs and describe their ...clinical features.
Animals
Ten client‐owned dogs with STE diagnosed at 5 European referral centers.
Methods
A call for suspected cases of STE was made online. This call was followed by a retrospective review of medical records, combined with a questionnaire to be completed by both the owner and the board‐certified neurologist who made the diagnosis. Cases were included if >50% of the seizures that occurred were related to eating and if a minimum diagnostic evaluation for seizures had been performed.
Results
Four cases only had STE and 6 cases had both STE and spontaneous seizures. Four of the dogs were retrievers. The most common seizure type was focal epileptic seizures evolving to become generalized. Nine dogs were diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. One dog had a presumptive diagnosis of glioma involving the margins of the parietal, temporal, and frontal cortex (the perisylvian region), an area known to have a key role in eating‐associated epilepsy in people. Treatment strategies included a combination of pharmacological management and eating habit changes.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
We have identified a form of reflex epilepsy in dogs, with STE behavior. Further studies are warranted to improve the characterization and management of STE.
Fluid-filled cavities within the brain are well-recognized in human and veterinary medicine. Congenital or acquired brain cystic lesions could be isolated or associated with other diseases. Clinical ...signs related to cysts depend on their size and the mass effect they exert on surrounding neuroanatomical structures. We present a case of a 5-month-old Belgian Malinois dog with cervical pain and right head tilt. The dog had a normal haematochemical profile and negative infectious disease tests. A contrast enhancement Computed Tomography scan revealed the presence of a thin-walled cystic lesion in the caudal cranial fossa at the level of the right pontine-cerebellar junction. A cerebrospinal fluid tap was performed by lumbar puncture, revealing a monocytic pleocytosis. After initial improvement following corticosteroid and antibiotic therapy, clinical signs worsened, and the dog underwent a second clinical evaluation and magnetic resonance imaging examination. After euthanasia a complete postmortem examination was performed. Histological and immunohistochemical findings were suggestive of an ependymal cyst.
Computed tomography (CT) is a well-recognized diagnostic tool in human and traditional companion animal medicine, and is beginning to find application in exotic companion mammals as well. In ...particular, CT is useful for evaluation of patients with dental disease, and aids diagnosis, determination of a more accurate prognosis, and planning of treatment. Although axial slices provide the most useful information, new reconstruction software allows images to be converted to virtual 3-dimensional forms, providing yet another imaging tool for the practitioner.
Accurate diagnosis of dental disease and related complications is extremely important in companion rabbit medicine. When dental disease is diagnosed, a proper prognosis and surgical plan is essential ...for treatment success. The objectives of this retrospective study were to compare survey radiography and computed tomography (CT) of the skull and teeth in rabbit patients affected by dental disease verifying consistency between observers and diagnostic significance of the 2 techniques, and to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of the 2 modalities for prognostic and therapeutic purposes. In total, 27 pet rabbits were included in the study. A second diagnostic procedure was performed on 3 patients with dental disease for a total of 30 examinations for each technique. A full series of 5 extraoral radiographic views and CT scans of the head without contrast medium were obtained from each patient while under general anesthesia. With both series of imaging modalities, 13 bilateral anatomic and dental structures were evaluated by 2 observers for each patient’s skull. Observations were statistically consistent for diagnosis, within the same technique and between the 2 techniques. Diagnostic accuracy of CT was superior in 24 patients (80%) in diagnosis and prognosis and in 17 patients (56.6%) for guiding extraoral dental and surgical treatment. Radiography provided superior accuracy in 5 patients (16.6%) for guiding intraoral dental treatment.
The electroencephalogram (EEG) is an electrodiagnostic technique widely used in both scientific research and clinical medicine. It makes it possible to study the neurophysiology of brain activity by ...recording real-time changes in electrical potential produced by cortical activation. The importance of EEG in diagnosing canine epilepsy demonstrates its usefulness when the owner's description of crises is not clear or when the episodes cannot be differentiated from behavioral or cardiac disorders. However, EEG recordings also often record electrical activity from sources other than the brain, which may interfere with the clinical event-related signal. This activity is known as artifactual electrical activity, and the signal changes recorded in these cases corrupt the trace when they are superimposed on brain activity or even, in some cases, mimic pathologic abnormalities. The first step in analyzing and interpreting EEG traces is to recognize artifacts and other specific transient events. This retrospective study set out to ascertain whether artifacts comparable to those described in humans are observed in protocols used to perform short-term interictal EEG for canine epilepsy and how these can be classified.
A 6-year-old neutered female cat was examined for chronic and progressive pelvic limb ataxia that progressed to non-ambulatory paraparesis over 1 month. Haematological and serum analyses were mainly ...within normal ranges. Thoracic and abdominal radiographs did not reveal any morphological abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging investigation of the thoraco-lumbar spine demonstrated a well-defined, extradural mass that extended into the epidural space from the L2 to L3 vertebral bodies and expanded in the L2 to L3 left intervertebral foramen. During surgery, a long, narrow, white parasite which was weakly adherent to the phlogistic epidural fat tissue was gently removed from the spinal canal. Histological examination of the pathological tissue supported a diagnosis of epidural steatitis surrounding a female adult Dirofilaria immitis. This is a novel case of natural D immitis infection with spinal localisation in a cat, well documented with magnetic resonance investigation, and cytological and histological examinations, introducing a novel differential diagnosis for extradural spinal masses in cats.
The medical records of two dogs that were diagnosed with masticatory muscle myositis (MMM) were reviewed. The reported clinical signs included intense pain when opening the mouth and restricted jaw ...movement. MRI detected widespread, symmetrical, and inhomogeneously hyperintense areas in the masticatory muscle. Electromyography (EMG) demonstrated severe and spontaneous pathologic activity in the temporal and masseter muscles. With early therapeutic treatment, remission of symptoms occurred within 2 mo, and no relapses were observed for the subsequent 2 yr. The gold standard for the diagnosis of MMM is the 2M antibody test, but the purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of MRI as an accurate and efficient diagnostic tool for the initiation of early therapy for the treatment of muscle myositis.
Resumo Os aprisionamentos vasculares são raros. Nos membros inferiores, geralmente são assintomáticos, mas podem causar claudicação intermitente atípica em indivíduos jovens sem fatores de risco para ...aterosclerose ou doenças inflamatórias. O vaso mais frequentemente acometido é a artéria poplítea, causando a síndrome do aprisionamento da artéria poplítea (SAAP), com sintomas na região dos músculos infrapatelares. Quando o desconforto ao esforço é mais distal, deve-se pensar em outros locais de aprisionamento arterial, como a artéria tibial anterior. Neste trabalho, é relatado o caso de um paciente com claudicação intermitente nos pés devido ao aprisionamento da artéria tibial anterior (AATA) bilateral, causado pelo retináculo dos músculos extensores e diagnosticado pela ultrassonografia vascular e angiotomografia durante flexão plantar. O paciente foi tratado cirurgicamente, evoluindo com melhora dos sintomas clínicos.
Abstract Vascular entrapment is rare. In the lower limbs it is generally asymptomatic, but may cause atypical intermittent claudication in young people without risk factors for atherosclerosis and inflammatory diseases. The most common type of compression involves the popliteal artery, causing symptoms in the region of the infra-patellar muscles. When discomfort is more distal, other entrapment points should be considered, such as the anterior tibial artery. This article reports the case of a patient with intermittent claudication in both feet due to extrinsic compression of the anterior tibial artery bilaterally by the extensor retinaculum of the ankle, diagnosed by vascular ultrasonography and angiotomography during plantar flexion maneuvers. The patient was treated surgically, resulting in improvement of clinical symptoms.
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