Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hyoid bone injuries found in 3% of dogs but not cats on CT scans
By Ruth, J D et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2017·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of hyoid injuries in dogs and cats undergoing computed tomography.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 3.1% of dogs undergoing CT scans for other health issues had hyoid bone injuries, which are rare in pets. Out of 293 dogs, 9 had fractures or dislocations of the hyoid bones, with the most common being the epihyoid bone. Interestingly, most of these dogs showed no signs of trauma, difficulty swallowing, or breathing problems. This suggests that hyoid injuries might often be found by chance during imaging for unrelated conditions.
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Abstract
Fractures of the hyoid bones have been reported occasionally in dogs, but the prevalence and significance of hyoid injury in dogs and cats are unknown. In human beings, hyoid injury is rare and usually is caused by direct trauma to the greater cornu, which are analogous to the paired canine and feline thyrohyoid bones. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and morphology of hyoid bone injury detected in dogs and cats undergoing computed tomography (CT) for unrelated disease. CT studies of 293 dogs and 100 cats from 2012 to 2016 were identified and reviewed retrospectively. Hyoid fracture (total of eight bones) or luxation (total of four sites) was present in 9/293 (3.1%) dogs, but none of the cats. One dog had bilateral fractures and one dog had bilateral luxations. The most frequently fractured bone was the epihyoid bone (4/8 fractures). Fracture margins were tapered and sclerotic, consistent with chronic non-union. There was no history of trauma, dysphagia or dyspnea in 7/9 dogs with hyoid fractures. Hyoid bone injury, particularly epihyoid bone fracture, may be an incidental finding in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28671069/