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Review
. 2020 Nov 26:7:596059.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.596059. eCollection 2020.

Prognostic Factors in Canine Acute Intervertebral Disc Disease

Natasha J Olby  1 , Ronaldo C da Costa  2 , Jon M Levine  3 , Veronika M Stein  4 ; Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT SCI)
Affiliations
Review

Prognostic Factors in Canine Acute Intervertebral Disc Disease

Natasha J Olby et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Knowledge of the prognosis of acute spinal cord injury is critical to provide appropriate information for clients and make the best treatment choices. Acute intervertebral disc extrusions (IVDE) are a common cause of pain and paralysis in dogs with several types of IVDE occurring. Important prognostic considerations are recovery of ambulation, return of urinary and fecal continence, resolution of pain and, on the negative side, development of progressive myelomalacia. Initial injury severity affects prognosis as does type of IVDE, particularly when considering recovery of continence. Overall, loss of deep pain perception signals a worse outcome. When considering Hansen type 1 IVDE, the prognosis is altered by the choice of surgical vs. medical therapy. Concentration of structural proteins in the plasma, as well as inflammatory mediators, creatine kinase, and myelin basic protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can provide additional prognostic information. Finally, cross-sectional area and length of T2 hyperintensity and loss of HASTE signal on MRI have been associated with outcome. Future developments in plasma and imaging biomarkers will assist in accurate prognostication and optimization of patient management.

Keywords: acute intervertebral disc extrusion; acute non-compressive nucleus pulposus extrusion; ambulation; dog; pain perception; paraplegia; spinal cord injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Images of a female spayed, 6-year-old, mixed breed dog with an acute onset of non-ambulatory paraparesis and spinal pain (A). Sagittal T2W image showing moderate ventral spinal cord compression secondary to intervertebral disc extrusion at L1–L2, with associated spinal cord hyperintensity spanning over T13 to L1 (long arrow) (B). Transverse T2W image at T13–L1 showing spinal cord hyperintensity (long arrow) cranial to the compressive lesion (C). Transverse T2 image showing lateralized spinal cord compression caused by a hypointense material between L1–2 (short arrow) found to be extruded disc material at surgery. L1 vertebral body is labeled (L1).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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