Imaging of acute intervertebral disc disease in canines

In the veterinary setting many breeds suffer sudden onset symptoms affecting mobility and causing acute pain. Dogs with acute presentation of symptoms have a range of differential diagnosis and without advanced imaging it would not be possible to treat these effectively. Some breeds are genetically conditioned to intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). For example, in a […]In the veterinary setting many breeds suffer sudden onset symptoms affecting mobility and causing acute pain. Dogs with acute presentation of symptoms have a range of differential diagnosis and without advanced imaging it would not be possible to treat these effectively. Some breeds are genetically conditioned to intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). For example, in a study in 2015 the presence of IVDD in Dachshunds occurred in 19-24% of the sample. There are dogs that present with long-standing chronic pain, which would likely be age or congenital/breed-related pathology. MRI is the gold standard imaging choice for disc and cord- related pathology. The orientation of the images are to the true anatomical position of the dog. There is greater availability of MRI in human hospitals than in the veterinary setting. For a dog to have an MRI, it would normally need to be referred to see a specialist neurologist. Referral hospitals will have either a low field scanner (<1.0T) or a high field scanner (>1.0T) and owners may be required to travel long distances for this service, with only 85 veterinary practices over the UK having access to MRI.

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