Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spinal epidural empyema in cats: symptoms and treatment outcomes
By Guo, S & Lu, D·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2020·CityU Peace Avenue Veterinary Clinic, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and outcome of spinal epidural empyema in four cats (2010 to 2016).
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Four cats were brought in for not being able to walk properly due to a serious spinal condition called spinal epidural empyema, which involves infection in the space around the spinal cord. Two cats had imaging tests done to help diagnose the issue, and bacteria were found in three of the cases. Treatment involved surgery to relieve pressure on the spine along with antibiotics for three of the cats, while one cat received medical treatment alone. All four cats showed good improvement after treatment over a three-month follow-up period.
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Abstract
This case series reviews previous publications and reports four feline spinal epidural empyema cases that presented with non-ambulatory thoracolumbar myelopathy. Two cats underwent myelography and two MRI. Bacteria were obtained in three cases, in two from epidural abscesses and from a tail base wound in one; histopathological examination of epidural tissue showed pyogranulomatous changes in the remaining cat. Three cats were treated by surgical decompression plus antimicrobial therapy and one cat was treated medically. All cats showed satisfactory improvement following treatment over a follow-up period of 3 months. Spinal epidural empyema is a rare condition but all cats in this series had favourable outcomes.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30387154/