Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with tetanus showing twitching and chewing during REM sleep
By Knipe, Marguerite et al.Ā·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicineĀ·2023Ā·Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, United StatesĀ·View original on PubMed ā
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Original publication title: Electroencephalography of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder in a dog with generalized tetanus.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-month-old Airedale puppy was brought in for unusual behaviors during sleep, including excessive paddling and chewing movements. After testing, the vet found that these movements occurred during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, but not during wakefulness or other sleep stages. The puppy was diagnosed with generalized tetanus, and after receiving antimicrobial and supportive treatment, the clinical signs improved over eight weeks. The sleep-related movements resolved six weeks after treatment began, indicating that the puppy made a full recovery.
People also search for: puppy sleep problems Ā· Airedale dog REM sleep behavior disorder Ā· generalized tetanus treatment in dogs
Abstract
CASE SUMMARY: A 3-month-old Airedale dog with clinically diagnosed generalized tetanus was investigated for the occurrence of excessive paddling and chewing movements when sleeping. Electroencephalogram (EEG) with time-locked video over 31 hours determined occurrence of the abnormal movements to be within 20 to 180 seconds of the onset of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, but not at any other stage of wakefulness or sleep. No epileptiform activity was noted. Clinical signs of generalized tetanus resolved over 8 weeks with antimicrobial and symptomatic treatment, and sleep-associated movements resolved 6 weeks after presentation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) has been suspected in dogs with generalized tetanus but not confirmed by correlation of repeated episodes of vocalization or motor behaviors or both with REM sleep defined by an EEG. The case further defines RBD in dogs with tetanus, and highlights the value of EEG to differentiate among different parasomnias and epileptiform activity.
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Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36457276/