Contrast radiographic findings in canine bacterial discospondylitis: A multicenter, retrospective study of 27 cases

A multicenter, retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate contrast radi ographic findings in canine bacterial discospondylitis. Records and myelogr ams or epidurograms of 27 patients were obtained from five colleges of vete rinary medicine. Fifteen cases (56%) were evaluated as having some degree of spinal cord com pression. The majority (73.3%) of the cases had only soft tissue as the com pressive mass. The median compression for all cases was 5% of the vertebral canal. No difference was noted for compression based on anatomical site (i .e., cervical versus thoracolumbar versus lumbosacral). No significant corr elation between degree of lesion compression and clinical outcome was noted , but there was it trend toward increased mortality with greater compressio n. There was no correlation between the ambulatory status and the ultimate outcome. Three of the 15 (20%) cases showed vertebral subluxation. Results of this study indicate that static spinal cord compression is not a significant component of the neurological dysfunction associated with bact erial discospondylitis. Identification of vertebral subluxation in some pat ients may indicate a dynamic lesion that should be evaluated with stress ra diography.