Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with tetanus showing nerve problems and brain scan results
By Grant, Kylie & Long, Sam·Published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science·2023·View original on Crossref →
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Original publication title: Case report: A case of tetanus in a dog: cranial nerve involvement and imaging findings
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 11-year-old male Labrador cross was brought in with signs of weakness, difficulty moving, and facial drooping. The dog showed symptoms like excessive drooling and stiffness, which led the vet to perform an MRI that revealed changes in the brain. After diagnosing the dog with tetanus, the veterinarian treated him with antibiotics, muscle relaxants, and tetanus antitoxin. Thankfully, the dog made a full recovery and returned to his normal self.
People also search for: dog tetanus symptoms · Labrador facial drooping treatment · dog MRI brain findings · dog weakness and drooling · tetanus treatment for dogs
Abstract
An 11 years old male Labrador cross presented with unilateral vestibular signs, ipsilateral facial paresis, moderate obtundation, ptyalism, and paraparesis. MRI of the brain revealed diffuse, multifocal T2/FLAIR hyperintense changes throughout various regions of the brain including the medulla, midbrain, pons, thalamus and right cerebral hemisphere with mild multifocal contrast enhancement. The patient progressed to trismus with generalized increased extensor tone and risus sardonicus. A diagnosis of generalized tetanus was made and the patient was started on antibiotics, skeletal muscle relaxants and tetanus antitoxin and made a full recovery. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported case of canine tetanus in which the presenting signs involved cranial nerve dysfunction as well as the first report describing MRI changes in canine tetanus within the central nervous system.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1271334