Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
CT scans show muscle abscesses from plant material in dogs
By Hennessey, Erin et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2022·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: CT can identify characteristic features of hypaxial muscle abscesses in dogs due to presumed migrating vegetal foreign material as well as additional changes along the migratory tract in other anatomic regions.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with abdominal or back pain, fever, and lethargy were found to have abscesses in their hypaxial muscles, often due to foreign material that had migrated into their bodies. Most of these dogs were hunting breeds, and they showed signs like increased breathing effort and pain in their back or abdomen. Imaging tests like CT scans revealed fluid-filled abscesses and other changes in their muscles and vertebrae. In some cases, the foreign material was surgically removed, while others were treated based on imaging and lab results. The CT scans helped veterinarians plan effective treatments for these dogs.
People also search for: dog back pain treatment · hunting dog fever symptoms · abscess in dog muscle treatment
Abstract
Hypaxial muscle abscess is an important differential in dogs presenting for abdominal or back pain, lameness, and nonspecific signs like fever, lethargy, and hyporexia. It can occur concurrently with intrathoracic disease such as pyothorax secondary to migrating vegetal foreign material. Twelve dogs that underwent CT of the lumbar spine or abdomen and had a diagnosed hypaxial abscess on surgical and/or microbiological examination were included in this retrospective, descriptive case series. Computed tomography findings and findings from other imaging modalities employed were described. Eleven dogs were hunting breeds. Clinical signs included lethargy, fever, increased respiratory effort, and abdominal or back pain. Radiography and/or ultrasonography were employed during preliminary work up at clinician discretion and respectively revealed changes consistent with osteomyelitis in the cranial lumbar vertebrae and heterogenous, hypoechoic areas in the hypaxial musculature consistent with abscesses. Computed tomography findings included enlargement of hypaxial muscles with well-defined fluid attenuating noncontrast enhancing areas with a contrast-enhancing rim consistent with abscesses, periosteal reaction and lysis of vertebrae, and retroperitoneal effusion. Four of the 12 cases in this series had material identified and removed at surgery. The other eight cases were presumed to be the same disease process based on compatible signalment, imaging findings, and microbiological results. Migrating vegetal foreign bodies are a common problem at the authors' institution. Computed tomography provided expedient, thorough visualization of the relevant hypaxial lesions for diagnostic and surgical planning purposes and also characterized intrathoracic components of this disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35576324/