Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Radiographic elbow arthritis and cartilage damage in Labradors
By Farrell, Michael et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2014·Fitzpatrick Referrals, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Does radiographic arthrosis correlate with cartilage pathology in Labrador Retrievers affected by medial coronoid process disease?
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of Labrador retrievers with elbow pain and limping were studied to see if X-rays showing joint wear could predict the condition of the cartilage in their elbows. The research found that dogs with more severe X-ray signs of arthritis were also more likely to have worse cartilage damage when examined through surgery. This means that if your Labrador has elbow arthritis, the X-ray results can give your vet a good idea of how serious the cartilage issues might be.
People also search for: Labrador retriever elbow pain treatment · dog arthritis X-ray results · how to help dog with elbow osteoarthritis
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare radiographic elbow arthrosis with arthroscopic cartilage pathology in Labrador retrievers with elbow osteoarthritis secondary to medial coronoid process (MCP) disease. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective epidemiological study. ANIMALS: Labrador retrievers (n = 317; 592 elbow joints). METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively (June 2007-June 2011) to identify Labrador retrievers with thoracic limb lameness and elbow pain, a complete set of elbow radiographs, and a comprehensive arthroscopic surgery report. Each radiograph was scored for osteophytosis on the anconeal process and ulnar subtrochlear sclerosis using a modification of the International Elbow Working Group (IEWG) scoring system. Elbows affected by traumatic MCP fracture, humeral condylar osteochondrosis, or ununited anconeal process were excluded. The arthroscopic report was used to generate a composite cartilage score (CCS; 0 = normal, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe) for each elbow joint. Ordinal regression analysis was performed to test the relationship between radiographic arthrosis score and CCS. RESULTS: There was a significant relationship between radiographic elbow arthrosis and CCS (P < .001). Elbows with a higher radiographic score were significantly more likely to have a higher CCS than elbows with a lower radiographic score. For every month increase in age, the odds of having a higher CCS increased by 0.016 (1.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Radiographic arthrosis can be used to predict the severity of arthroscopic cartilage pathology in Labrador retrievers affected by MCP disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24393075/