Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with neck pain found to have spinal heartworm infection
By Bonawandt, Kathleen Ann et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2017·From the Animal Specialty Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Intradural Dirofilariasis in a Dog with Chronic Cervical Pain.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old female spayed Yorkshire terrier was brought in for chronic neck pain that had been bothering her for five months. After various tests, including an MRI, the vet discovered a live parasite in her spinal canal. During surgery, the vet removed the parasite, which was identified as a type of heartworm. Following the procedure, the dog made a full recovery and her neck pain completely resolved.
People also search for: dog neck pain treatment · heartworm in dogs · Yorkshire terrier spinal problems
Abstract
A 7 yr old female spayed Yorkshire terrier was referred to the author's institute for a 5 mo history of recurrent cervical spinal pain. Neurologic examination did not reveal any deficits. Hematologic and serum analyses were within normal limits. Thoracic radiographs that incorporated the cervical spine did not show structural abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine demonstrated a contrast enhancing, intradural extramedullary lesion at the level of the C2 vertebra. Hemilaminectomy was performed, during which a long, narrow nematode was visualized upon opening of the dura mater. The parasite was alive when removed during surgery, and the dog recovered with complete resolution of symptoms. The parasite was submitted and confirmed as a male adult Dirofilaria immitis. This is a novel case of an intradural D. immitis infection in the dog with a magnetic resonance imaging description of spinal D. immitis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27841685/