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摘要

An 11-month-old sexually intact female Pekingese was evaluated for paralysis of 4 days' duration. The dog had had signs of lumbar pain for 4 months and had developed signs of pelvic limb weakness 10 days prior to referral. The owner had been administering aspirin, which resulted in partial improvement in clinical signs. During the 48 hours prior to admission, the dog had received dexamethasone via injection, and prednisone had been administered orally. Intermittent vomiting and frequent urination hadbeen detected for several weeks before admission. There was no history of trauma or travel outside of Florida. On physical examination, the dog's mentation was dull and palpation of the thoracolumbar junction elicited signs of pain; crepitus was detected. Neurologic examination revealed nonambulatory paraparesis. Proprioceptive deficits were detected in both pelvic limbs. Patellar and withdrawal reflexes were considered normal. The cutaneous trunci reflex was absent caudal to the second lumbar vertebra. Deep pain sensation was detected. The neurologic findings and signs of focal pain were consistent with a T3-L3 myelopathy. Mild anemia (PCV, 34.7%; reference range, 36% to 60%) was detected on CBC. Abnormalities detected on serum biochemical analyses included high urea nitrogen concentration (54 mg/dL; reference range, 7 to 27 mg/dL), high alkaline phosphatase activity (223 U/L; reference range, 23 to 212 U/L), hypoalbuminemia (1.99 g/dL; reference range, 2.7 to 3.8 g/dL), and hyperphosphatemia (8.74mg/dL; reference range, 2.5 to 6.8 mg/dL). Urinalysis revealed hematuria and bacteriuria; the urine specific gravity was 1.027. Survey radiographs of the thoracolumbar portion of the vertebral column were obtained (Figure 1).