Mechanisms of injury and emergency care of acute spinal cord injury in dogs and cats.

OBJECTIVES: To review the literature in regards to the pathophysiology of acute spinal cord injury, and to describe current concepts in regards to patient assessment, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures with a special emphasis on emergency and critical care considerations. ETIOLOGY: Acute spinal cord injury occurs in 2 phases. The primary injury occurs at the time of initial injury and may include intervertebral disk herniation, vertebral fracture or luxation, penetrating injury, and vascular anomalies such as fibrocartilaginous embolic myelopathy. Secondary injury occurs following primary injury and is multifactorial encompassing numerous biochemical and vascular events that result in progression of injury. DIAGNOSIS: The diagnosis is based on history and physical examination findings. A neurologic examination should be performed following initial patient assessment and stabilization. Further diagnostics to characterize acute spinal injury include radiographs and advanced imaging modalities such as myelography, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging. THERAPY: Initial treatment should focus on addressing the patient's cardiovascular and respiratory system. Supportive measures to support systemic perfusion are vital to minimizing secondary injury. Specific therapy toward minimizing secondary injury in veterinary medicine remains controversial, especially in regards to the utilization of methylprednisolone. Other therapies are either in need of additional research or have failed to document clinical difference. PROGNOSIS: The prognosis for acute spinal injury is varied and is dependent upon the presence of concurrent trauma, location, and type of primary injury sustained, and extent of neurologic impairment at the time of initial presentation. The etiology of the underlying trauma is of great importance in determining prognosis and outcome. Loss of deep pain is generally accepted as a poor prognostic indicator; however, even these patients can recover depending on their response to treatment.

Comparison of scars from total hip replacements done with a standard or a mini-incision.

UNLABELLED: Scar cosmesis is one of the proposed benefits of mini-incision total hip replacement as opposed to standard-incision procedures; however, there has been no scientific proof of this clinical outcome. The cosmetic appearances of healed incisions of 34 primary total hip replacement procedures done by one surgeon using either a mini-incision (20 procedures) or a standard-length incision (14 procedures) were compared at an average of 2 years postoperatively. Each scar's appearance was graded independently by two plastic surgeons using a standardized rating system. Patients answered a questionnaire regarding their subjective assessment of their scar. The blinded observers found that more mini-scars (six of 20) were rated poor than standard scars (one of 14) and that more standard-incision patients had scars that were rated good. More mini-incision patients (two of 20 versus zero of 14) had wound-healing problems. All the patients thought that their hip scar was acceptable in appearance, but 30 of 31 patients rated the relief of pain and total hip replacement longevity as higher priorities than scar cosmesis. The cosmesis of mini-incision total hip replacement scars may be inferior to standard-incision scars because of skin and soft tissue damage produced by high retractor pressures needed for exposure using a limited skin incision. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, Level II-2 (prospective comparative study). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Use of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction to rapidly differentiate Neospora caninum from Toxoplasma gondii in an adult dog with necrotizing myocarditis and myocardial infarct.

This report describes a 3-year-old male castrated Mastiff dog that died unexpectedly with locally extensive, acute, necrotizing myocarditis and myocardial infarction. Intralesional protozoal tachyzoites in the affected myocardium were confirmed to be Neospora caninum by a novel multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Protozoal organisms were not identified in other tissues by histology, immunohistochemistry, or PCR. The multiplex PCR assay was used to quickly provide preliminary results on fresh myocardium to differentiate N. caninum and Toxoplasma gondii. Neosporosis is an uncommon cause of myocarditis in adult dogs and differential diagnoses for myocarditis in this population of dogs are reviewed.