Abstract
Spinal disease in dogs is commonly encountered in veterinary practice. Numerous diseases may cause similar clinical signs and presenting histories. The study objective was to use statistical models to identify...
Highlights
Spinal disease in dogs is commonly encountered in veterinary practice and encompasses over 40 diseases, many of which can produce similar histories and clinical signs
Many diseases may occur at any point along the length of the spinal cord, or if they have a predilection site, there may be sufficient overlap with possible locations of other diseases that further discrimination between differential diagnoses based on the neuroanatomical localisation alone is not possible
The initial assessment and formulation of a diagnostic or empiric treatment plan for dogs presenting with signs of spinal disease can be challenging for clinicians
Summary
Spinal disease in dogs is commonly encountered in veterinary practice and encompasses over 40 diseases, many of which can produce similar histories and clinical signs (da Costa 2010b, Parent 2010). Using the neurological examination to determine where the lesion is along the neuraxis (neuroanatomical localisation) is a key step in investigating spinal disease (Parent 2010). Many diseases may occur at any point along the length of the spinal cord, or if they have a predilection site, there may be sufficient overlap with possible locations of other diseases that further discrimination between differential diagnoses based on the neuroanatomical localisation alone is not possible. Intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE) can often cause acute onset myelopathy with spinal hyperaesthesia, and is more prevalent in chondrodystrophic breeds (Brisson 2010). Taking consideration of these multiple, pertinent variables should allow a more refined list of differential diagnoses to be made. While experienced clinicians may intuitively use such a system in their clinical approach, it has yet to be subject to statistical evaluation
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