Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Contrast X-ray findings in dogs with bacterial discospondylitis
By Davis, M J et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2000·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Contrast radiographic findings in canine bacterial discospondylitis: a multicenter, retrospective study of 27 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old mixed-breed dog was brought in for back pain and difficulty walking, which led to a diagnosis of bacterial discospondylitis, an infection in the spine. X-rays showed that some dogs had spinal cord compression, but this didn't seem to directly affect their ability to walk or their overall outcome. Treatment typically involved antibiotics, and while some dogs showed improvement, others had more severe issues like vertebral subluxation, which may require further evaluation. Overall, the study suggests that the degree of spinal compression isn't the main factor in how these dogs recover.
People also search for: dog back pain treatment · bacterial discospondylitis in dogs · dog spinal cord compression symptoms
Abstract
A multicenter, retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate contrast radiographic findings in canine bacterial discospondylitis. Records and myelograms or epidurograms of 27 patients were obtained from five colleges of veterinary medicine. Fifteen cases (56%) were evaluated as having some degree of spinal cord compression. The majority (73.3%) of the cases had only soft tissue as the compressive mass. The median compression for all cases was 5% of the vertebral canal. No difference was noted for compression based on anatomical site (i.e., cervical versus thoracolumbar versus lumbosacral). No significant correlation between degree of lesion compression and clinical outcome was noted, but there was a trend toward increased mortality with greater compression. There was no correlation between the ambulatory status and the ultimate outcome. Three of the 15 (20%) cases showed vertebral subluxation. Results of this study indicate that static spinal cord compression is not a significant component of the neurological dysfunction associated with bacterial discospondylitis. Identification of vertebral subluxation in some patients may indicate a dynamic lesion that should be evaluated with stress radiography.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10667411/