Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
EEG brain activity in dogs during surgery for congenital liver shunts
By Dupanloup, Adrien M et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2026·Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Perioperative assessment of electroencephalography in dogs with congenital portosystemic shunts.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 28 dogs with congenital portosystemic shunts (CPS) underwent surgery to correct the condition, and their brain activity was monitored using electroencephalography (EEG) before and after the procedure. Most dogs with normal EEG results before surgery did not experience seizures afterward, but a few with abnormal EEGs had serious complications, including seizures and even death. The study suggests that EEG could help identify dogs at higher risk for neurological issues after surgery. Overall, dogs with normal EEGs had better outcomes and recovered well from the surgery.
People also search for: dog seizures after surgery · congenital portosystemic shunt treatment · dog EEG results explained
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Biomarkers to identify dogs at risk of developing seizures after surgical attenuation of congenital portosystemic shunts (CPS) have not been defined. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To prospectively characterize perioperative electroencephalographic findings in dogs with CPS undergoing shunt attenuation, and to evaluate their association with outcomes after attenuation. ANIMALS: Twenty-eight client-owned dogs with CPS enrolled prospectively. METHODS: A prospective cohort of dogs presenting with no overt signs of encephalopathy underwent ambulatory electroencephalography (EEG) before and after CPS attenuation. Electroencephalography background activity and presence of epileptiform or encephalopathic features were assessed qualitatively. Quantitative analysis evaluated the mean dominant frequency and relative power of EEG frequency bands. RESULTS: Dogs with a normal pre-attenuation EEG (n = 24) did not develop early-onset (<7 days) PAS; however, 8% (2/24) experienced late-onset seizures (>30 days post-attenuation). Four dogs had abnormal pre-attenuation EEG. Two of these dogs developed early-onset seizures and 3 dogs (75%) died before discharge due to worsening neurological signs (n = 2) or immediate postoperative complication (n = 1). Pre-attenuation covert encephalopathy defined by EEG showed a combination of epileptiform features (4/4), abnormal background rhythm (3/4), and a lack of graphoelements of sleep (2/4). Median ammonia concentration (range) was 102.5 μg/dL (34-401) in non-encephalopathic dogs and 145.5 μg/dL (56-275) in dogs with covert encephalopathy. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Electroencephalography could provide useful diagnostic biomarkers to identify dogs at high risk of developing neurological complications after attenuation of CPS. In this cohort, dogs with no abnormalities detected on preoperative EEG had favorable outcomes during their hospitalization.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41742527/