Acute spinal cord degeneration following general anaesthesia in a young pony

Lam, Ko; Smyth, J.B.A.; Clarke, K. W.; Platt, D.

doi:10.1136/vr.136.13.329

Cited by 15 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…To date 30 cases of post anaesthetic myelopathy have been described, with the first case reported in 1979 (Schatzmann et al 1979;Blakemore et al 1984;Zink 1985;Brearley et al 1986;Yovich et al 1986;Lerche et al 1993;Lam et al 1995;Raidal et al 1997;Joubert et al 2005;van Loon et al 2010;Ragle et al 2011). Most commonly the affected horses were young, up to 24 months old, males and heavily muscled breeds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neurological deficits may be progressive. The function of the neck and front limbs is usually normal (Blakemore et al 1984;Zink 1985;Yovich et al 1986;Lerche et al 1993;Lam et al 1995;Raidal et al 1997;Joubert et al 2005;van Loon et al 2010;Ragle et al 2011). In a few cases the horses were able to stand following anaesthesia but collapsed later.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The horse described by Raidal et al (1997) stood uneventfully but collapsed after 5 h with flaccid paralysis of both hind limbs. The horses described by Lam et al (1995) and van Loon et al (2010) underwent two surgeries; the first recovery was uneventful but the horses were not able to stand after the second surgery. Other less common clinical signs include profuse sweating, arterial hypertension and tachycardia during anaesthesia which was not related to surgical manipulation (Zink 1985;Brearley et al 1986;Lerche et al 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Horses were admitted mostly for elective surgery (orthopaedic or soft tissue surgery) and, according to the preoperative examination, were considered to be healthy (Ragle et al 2011). Lam et al (1995) described this disorder in a seven month old Connemara pony presented as an emergency with herniation of abdominal content following castration. Although there are some exceptions in age and weight distribution in the group of affected horses, it appears that immature heavily muscled or large breed horses are prone to the development of post anaesthetic myelopathy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Definitive causes of equine post anaesthetic myelopathy have not yet been identified. Vascular pathogenesis, failure of oxygenation of the spinal cord and immaturity or individual variation of the spinal cord microcirculation in young horses have been proposed as possible reasons (Schatzman et al 1979;Blakemore et al 1984;Zink 1985;Brearley et al 1986;Yovich et al 1986;Lerche et al 1993;Lam et al 1995;Raidal et al 1997;Joubert et al 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Post anaesthetic myelopathy in the horse: a case report

Patschova¹,

Kabeš²,

Ludvíková³

2014

Vet. Med. - Czech

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ABSTRACT:The first case of post anaesthetic myelopathy in a horse is described. A two year old 530 kg Shire stallion underwent surgical removal of a granuloma in the ventral sternal region under general inhalation anaesthesia in dorsal recumbency. Total duration of the operation was 85 min. The anaesthesia was uneventful except for profuse sweating and arterial hypertension observed during the whole period. During recovery the horse was not able to stand, and flaccid paralysis of hind limbs, absence of reaction to an induced pain stimulus on the hind limbs and no patellar or anal reflex was recorded; in addition, tail tonus was weak. Panniculus reflex was absent distally from the 17 th intercostal space. Head, neck and front limb movement was not affected. The horse did not respond to treatment by intravenous administration of dexamethasone, hypertonic or isotonic saline. The status deteriorated and the horse was euthanised 4 h after the end of anaesthesia. The main pathological findings were haemorrhage, oedema and malacia of L5-L6 spinal cord segments and cauda equina. Histological examination of the spinal cord revealed haemorrhage and areas of necrosis predominantly in the grey matter of L5 and L6 segments. Impairment of spinal cord perfusion due to haemodynamic changes associated with dorsal recumbency and general anaesthesia is presumed. Predisposition factors could include young age, dorsal recumbency and high weight.

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