Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
MRI findings and signs in 92 cats with spinal cord disease
By Gonçalves, Rita et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2009·Institute of Comparative Medicine, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging findings in 92 cats with clinical signs of spinal cord disease.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 92 cats showing signs of spinal cord disease underwent MRI scans to determine the cause of their symptoms. The cats were diagnosed with various issues, including tumors, infections, trauma, and other conditions. The severity of their symptoms and the presence of spinal pain were linked to abnormal MRI results, which affected their survival rates. Cats with normal MRI results had a much better outlook, with many living for over two years, while those with abnormal findings had a median survival time of about 138 days.
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Abstract
Medical records of 92 cats presented with clinical signs of spinal cord disease, which had undergone magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), were reviewed. The cats were grouped into seven categories based upon the diagnosis suggested by results of MRI, cerebrospinal fluid analysis and other diagnostic procedures: neoplastic (n=25), inflammatory or infectious (n=13), traumatic (n=8), vascular (n=6), degenerative (n=5), anomalous (n=3) and those with an unremarkable MRI (n=32). There were two independent predictors of abnormal MRI findings: severity of clinical signs and presence of spinal pain. Abnormal MRI findings and speed of onset of disease were significantly associated with survival. For the 32 cats with unremarkable MRI findings, only nine died due to spinal disease and, therefore, the median survival time (MST) was not reached (lower 95% confidence interval (CI)=970 days). For the 60 cats with abnormal MRI findings, 37 died due to their disease and the MST was 138 days (95% CI: 7-807).
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18602328/