Doenças neurológicas e ortopédicas em cães e gatos submetidos à fisioterapia / Neurological and orthopedic diseases in dogs and cats submitted to physiotherapy

Background: The goals of physical therapy are to maximize functional recovery, improve mobility, and restore wellbeing and quality of life. In the veterinary literature, there is a dearth of data on physical therapy in small animal practice. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the main neurological and orthopedic diseases in canine and feline patients seen at the physical therapy service of an animal hospital. Concomitantly, we collected demographic and clinical information on patients, including sex, breed, physical therapy modalities, number and frequency of physical therapy sessions, duration of treatment, and rate of functional recovery. Materials, Methods & Results: The records of animals with neurological and orthopedic diseases seen at the Physical Therapy department of a university-affiliated animal hospital were reviewed. The animals were divided into two groups: I) dogs and cats with neurological diseases and II) dogs and cats with orthopedic diseases. Both groups were distributed according to species, age, sex and race. Dogs and cats were classified into three age groups: puppies (≤ 1 year old), adults (> 1 year and ≤ 10 years old) and elderly (> 10 years old). A total of 384 records were retrieved, of which 370 (96.4%) were of dogs and 14 (3.6%) of cats. Neurological cases accounted for 66% of the total (n = 253), with 243 cases in dogs (96%) and 10 in cats (4%). Among orthopedic cases (n = 131, accounting for the remaining 34%), 127 were in dogs (97%) and only 4 in cats (3%). In the neurological dysfunction group, intervertebral disc disease (72.4%) was the most common diagnosis. Among the orthopedic disorders, femur fracture (23.1%) was most prevalent. In group I (neurological), 66.7% of outcomes in canine patients and 44.4% in felines were considered satisfactory. In group II...

Complicações observadas em cães e gatos com doenças neurológicas / Complications observed in dogs and cats with neurological diseases

Cães e gatos com problemas neurológicos estão sujeitos a várias sequelas e complicações, em decorrência das deficiências motoras, sensoriais e viscerais. Algumas complicações estão relacionadas a maior mortalidade, principalmente aquelas relacionadas ao trauma vertebromedular. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar nessas espécies a frequência do aparecimento de complicações, a epidemiologia, localização da lesão e etiologia, avaliando ainda a evolução e o tempo de sobrevida. Foram acompanhados 100 cães e gatos com doenças neurológicas trazidos para atendimento no Serviço de Neurologia do Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Estadual de Londrina. Observou-se que 91% dos animais desenvolveram complicações, sendo que as mais frequentes foram atrofia muscular (n=32), retenção urinária (n=24), incontinência urinária (n=24), incontinência fecal (n=17) e feridas de decúbito (n=16). O principal local de lesão associado ao aparecimento das complicações foi medula espinhal (91,3%) e a principal etiologia foi o trauma vertebromedular (37,3%). O tempo mediano e médio de vida estimado foram, respectivamente, dois e sete meses sendo que as principais causas de morte ou eutanásia estavam relacionadas ao trauma vertebromedular, trauma cranioencefálico ou doença inflamatória/infecciosa. O tempo de vida estimado foi menor para animais mais velhos e mais pesados. Embora o índice de sobrevivência dos animais com complicações tenha sido alto, muitos permaneceram com sequelas, indicando que a sobrevivência não significou capacidade funcional normal. Cães e gatos com problemas neurológicos requerem alto grau de atenção do veterinário e de seus tutores, sendo fundamental a orientação a respeito da real expectativa de recuperação e das dificuldades de manejo que poderão ser encontradas no curso da doença.(AU)

Dogs and cats with neurological diseases can show several sequelae and complications as a result of motor, sensory and visceral deficiencies. Some complications are an important cause of mortality, mainly complications related to spinal cord injury. The aim of this study was to evaluate in 100 dogs and cats brought to the Neurology Service of Veterinary Hospital from Universidade Estadual de Londrina the frequency of complications, epidemiology, lesion localization and etiology, still assessing the evolution and survival time. It was observed that 91% of the animals developed complications. The most frequent were muscular atrophy (n=32), urinary retention (n=24), urinary incontinence (n=24), fecal incontinence (n=17) and pressure sores (n=16). The main site of injury associated with the onset of complications was spinal cord (91%) and the main cause was the spinal cord trauma (37.3%). The median survival time of animals with complications was two months and the mean was seven months. The main causes of death or euthanasia were related do spinal cord trauma, traumatic brain injury or inflammatory/infectious disease. The estimated lifetime was lower for older and heavier animals. Although the survival rate of animals with complications was high, most of them remained with sequelae, indicating that survival does not mean normal functional capacity. Dogs and cats with neurological problems require a high degree of attention of the veterinarian and their guardians, and guidelines regarding the real expectation of recovery and management difficulties that may be encountered in the course of the disease are essential.(AU)

Complicações observadas em cães e gatos com doenças neurológicas / Complications observed in dogs and cats with neurological diseases

Cães e gatos com problemas neurológicos estão sujeitos a várias sequelas e complicações, em decorrência das deficiências motoras, sensoriais e viscerais. Algumas complicações estão relacionadas a maior mortalidade, principalmente aquelas relacionadas ao trauma vertebromedular. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar nessas espécies a frequência do aparecimento de complicações, a epidemiologia, localização da lesão e etiologia, avaliando ainda a evolução e o tempo de sobrevida. Foram acompanhados 100 cães e gatos com doenças neurológicas trazidos para atendimento no Serviço de Neurologia do Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Estadual de Londrina. Observou-se que 91% dos animais desenvolveram complicações, sendo que as mais frequentes foram atrofia muscular (n=32), retenção urinária (n=24), incontinência urinária (n=24), incontinência fecal (n=17) e feridas de decúbito (n=16). O principal local de lesão associado ao aparecimento das complicações foi medula espinhal (91,3%) e a principal etiologia foi o trauma vertebromedular (37,3%). O tempo mediano e médio de vida estimado foram, respectivamente, dois e sete meses sendo que as principais causas de morte ou eutanásia estavam relacionadas ao trauma vertebromedular, trauma cranioencefálico ou doença inflamatória/infecciosa. O tempo de vida estimado foi menor para animais mais velhos e mais pesados. Embora o índice de sobrevivência dos animais com complicações tenha sido alto, muitos permaneceram com sequelas, indicando que a sobrevivência não significou capacidade funcional normal. Cães e gatos com problemas neurológicos requerem alto grau de atenção do veterinário e de seus tutores, sendo fundamental a orientação a respeito da real expectativa de recuperação e das dificuldades de manejo que poderão ser encontradas no curso da doença.(AU)

Dogs and cats with neurological diseases can show several sequelae and complications as a result of motor, sensory and visceral deficiencies. Some complications are an important cause of mortality, mainly complications related to spinal cord injury. The aim of this study was to evaluate in 100 dogs and cats brought to the Neurology Service of Veterinary Hospital from Universidade Estadual de Londrina the frequency of complications, epidemiology, lesion localization and etiology, still assessing the evolution and survival time. It was observed that 91% of the animals developed complications. The most frequent were muscular atrophy (n=32), urinary retention (n=24), urinary incontinence (n=24), fecal incontinence (n=17) and pressure sores (n=16). The main site of injury associated with the onset of complications was spinal cord (91%) and the main cause was the spinal cord trauma (37.3%). The median survival time of animals with complications was two months and the mean was seven months. The main causes of death or euthanasia were related do spinal cord trauma, traumatic brain injury or inflammatory/infectious disease. The estimated lifetime was lower for older and heavier animals. Although the survival rate of animals with complications was high, most of them remained with sequelae, indicating that survival does not mean normal functional capacity. Dogs and cats with neurological problems require a high degree of attention of the veterinarian and their guardians, and guidelines regarding the real expectation of recovery and management difficulties that may be encountered in the course of the disease are essential.(AU)