Use of Electrodiagnostics in the Diagnosis and Follow-Up of Brachial Plexus Syndrome in a Calf

Abstract

Electrodiagnostic testing by using electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS) is essential in the evaluation of patients with traumatic brachial plexus injury as it facilitates the localization of the lesion and the prognosis. In this case report, we present a long-term electrodiagnostic follow-up of a 5-day-old female Holstein calf with brachial plexus syndrome. Electrodiagnostic studies were carried out at 2 weeks, 5 weeks, 7 months and 12 months after admission. Initially, EMG confirmed the damage to the brachial plexus, potentially indicating a condition of neurotmesis or axonotmesis. However, motor NCS and the repeated electrodiagnostic follow-up, along with the evolution of the clinical signs, allowed a more favorable diagnosis of axonotmesis to be made. In fact, EMG showed a slow but gradual reduction and finally the disappearance of spontaneous pathological activity, while motor NCS revealed an increase in the amplitude and areas of the compound muscle action potentials. The animal was deemed fully recovered 12 months after admission. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report on the use of motor NCS in bovine medicine and it demonstrates that electrodiagnostics represent a useful and practical tool for the evaluation and prognosis of brachial plexus injury cases in cattle.

Assessment and Non-Bandaging Treatment of Third-degree Thermal Injury in the Dog: A Case Report

“…BSA mapping is crucial considering that burns covering more than 10% of the body can be life-threatening causing severe changes in the animal's body, whereas burns covering more than 20% BSA in human medicine are classified as severe [2,4,7]. However, all burn injuries which do not extend 40% BSA may have a favorable treatment prognosis [6].…”

“…For successful treatment, it is imperative to start management as soon as possible after the injury. Burns treatment mainly depends on the depth of the injury but in veterinary medicine unique, standardized treatment is not established [2,6]. Generally, treatment should start with analgesics, antimicrobials to prevent infection, fluid therapy for patients with more than 20% BSA affected, and local treatment with silver-sulfadiazine cream as a first choice [13].…”

“…According to the CT results from the study by Henriksson et al [5], it is estimated that the head and abdomen cover 14%, the neck and individual thoracic limbs 9%, the thorax 18%, the pelvic limbs individually 11%, and the pelvis and tail covers 5% of the total body surface in mesocephalic dogs. Due to wide diversity, there is no accurate method for BSA estimation in animals [6]. Furthermore, classifying burns is a crucial aspect of patient evaluation.…”

“…In many cases, thermal injuries are treated as traumatic wounds [1]. After complete triage of the patient and clinical examination, it is necessary to start with immediate treatment which depends on the injury type [6]. It is very important to keep the affected area moist in order to prevent additional irritation of the nerve endings which will reduce the pain [8].…”

“…It is very important to keep the affected area moist in order to prevent additional irritation of the nerve endings which will reduce the pain [8]. For this purpose, it is preferable to bandage the burn with non-adherent bandages by applying different topical mixtures [2,6]. Only in cases of difficult bandaging, the burn wound can remain exposed to atmospheric air with maximum care and prevention of secondary infections [1].…”