Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Risk factors for problems after brain biopsy in dogs with brain tumors
By Shinn, Richard L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2020·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Risk factors for adverse events occurring after recovery from stereotactic brain biopsy in dogs with primary intracranial neoplasia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 29 dogs with brain tumors underwent a procedure called stereotactic brain biopsy (SBB) to diagnose their conditions. After the procedure, about 27% of the dogs experienced adverse events, mostly temporary issues like worsening or new neurological symptoms. The study found that dogs with certain types of tumors and lower platelet counts were more likely to have complications. Fortunately, most of these issues resolved within a week, but it’s important for dogs to have a platelet count of at least 185,000/mm to reduce the risk of problems after the biopsy.
People also search for: dog brain tumor biopsy risks · dog neurological symptoms after surgery · what to expect after dog brain biopsy
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Stereotactic brain biopsy (SBB) allows for histopathologic diagnosis of brain tumors. Adverse events (AE) occur in 5 to 29% of dogs after SBB, but risk factors associated with developing AE are poorly described. OBJECTIVE: Identify clinicopathologic, diagnostic imaging, or procedural variables that are associated with AE in dogs after SBB. ANIMALS: Twenty-nine dogs with brain tumors. METHODS: Retrospective, case-control study. Dogs had laboratory investigations performed before SBB, as well as clinical examinations and diagnostic imaging of the brain before and after SBB. Cases experienced AE after SBB including transient exacerbation of preexisting neurologic deficits, transient new deficits, or permanent neurologic deficits. Controls had SBB performed without AE. Fisher's exact and Student's t tests were used to examine associations between the postulated risk factors and AE. RESULTS: Adverse events occurred in 8/29 (27%) dogs, and 7/8 AE (88%) were transient. Cases were significantly more likely to have T2W-heterogenous tumors (88 versus 38%; P = .04) and lower platelet counts (194.75 ± 108.32 versus 284.29 ± 68.54 ×10/mm, P = .006). Dogs with gradient echo signal voids present on baseline imaging were significantly more likely to have hemorrhage present after biopsy, and 7/8 (88%) of cases had hemorrhage on imaging after SBB. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Twenty-seven percent of dogs undergoing SBB experience AE, with the majority of AE resolving with 1 week. Platelet counts should be ≥185 000/mmto minimize risk of SBB-associated AE. Observation of intracranial hemorrhage after biopsy can have important clinical implications, as this was observed in 88% of dogs with AE.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32924201/