A case series of 37 surgically managed, paraplegic, deep pain negative, French bulldogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion from two English referral centres

Jones, Gareth; Cherubini, Gunio; Llabres-Diaz, Francisco; Caine, Abby; De Stefani, Alberta

Abstract

Background:
Thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusions (TL-IVDE) are a common spinal disorder in dogs, especially within chondrodystrophic breeds. Loss of deep nociception is a well-documented negative prognostic indicator in dogs with TL-IVDE, with approximately only 50% of dogs recovering neurological function after surgery.

Objectives:
The objective of this study was to assess the rate of recovery in surgically treated, paraplegic, nociceptive negative French Bulldogs.

Animals:
Forty-nine French Bulldogs with TL-IVDEs who presented to two referral hospitals between 2015-2020

Methods:
A retrospective cohort study reviewing medical and MRI records, analysing signalment, clinical examination, location of lesion, complications, short term outcome and quantitative MRI changes including lesion length, extent of spinal cord swelling and severity of spinal cord compression.

Results:
Forty-nine French Bulldogs met the inclusion criteria, with 14/49 (28%) showing neurological improvement at the time of discharge. Dogs with L4-S3 lesions had a significantly worse outcome (p=.025) with 3/24 (13%) dogs showing neurological improvement, compared to 11/25 (44%) of dogs with T3-L3 lesions. Dogs which had a more severe spinal cord compression (associated with a greater severity of the spinal cord compression compared to the diameter of the normal spinal cord (p=.022)) had a better clinical outcome.

Conclusions and clinical importance:
This study suggests that French Bulldogs with TL-IVDE and absent nociception have a worse short term outcome following surgery compared to previous studies. Based on these findings, further investigations into why French Bulldogs presenting with paraplegia and absent nociception show a worse short-term outcome compared to other chondrodystrophic dogs are warranted.

Citation

Jones, G., Cherubini, G., Llabres-Diaz, F., Caine, A., & De Stefani, A. (in press). A case series of 37 surgically managed, paraplegic, deep pain negative, French bulldogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion from two English referral centres. Veterinary Record Open, https://doi.org/10.1002/vro2.61

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 4, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 9, 2023
• Deposit Date: May 18, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: May 18, 2023
• Journal: Veterinary Record Open
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/vro2.61