Acute Polyradiculoneuritis (Coonhound Paralysis)

Digg

Del.icio.us

Stumble

Acute Polyradiculoneuritis (Coonhound Paralysis)

By: Dr. Erika de Papp

Pages 1 2

Section: Veterinary Care In-depth

Diagnosis

Complete history and physical exam. A thorough history is important to ascertain the possibility of exposure to raccoons, ticks and toxins. A thorough physical exam will assist in choosing the appropriate diagnostics.

Neurologic exam. Careful assessment of the nervous system is imperative to determine the nature of the nervous system disorder. Animals with a peripheral nerve disease have weak muscles with diminished tone and decreased to absent reflexes. Those that are still able to walk may appear lame and have a stilted gait, although they are aware of where they are placing their feet. Animals with central nervous system disease may have behavior changes, walk with a drunken appearance and have stiff limbs. A neurologic evaluation not only pinpoints the part of the nervous system involved, but also assesses how widespread the problem is.

Complete blood count.

A CBC evaluates the red and white blood cells as well as the platelets. These would all likely be normal with polyradiculoneuritis, but the test may help rule out other disease processes.

A biochemical profile. This test evaluates blood sugar, blood proteins and electrolytes, and provides information about liver and kidney function. This is useful to get an overall idea about metabolic function. Animals with profound electrolyte disturbances (potassium and calcium in particular) or low blood sugar may also show signs of severe weakness.

Urinalysis. Evaluation of the urine is part of a complete laboratory assessment and gives a better indication of kidney function than the biochemical profile alone.

Electrodiagnostic testing. Tests in this category include electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies. These are specialized tests that examine the electrical activity in nerves and muscles and allow an accurate assessment of nerve and muscle function. They may be helpful in supporting the diagnosis of polyradiculoneuritis. However, abnormalities in these tests don't occur until about 6 to 7 days after the animal begins showing signs of weakness. These tests must be performed by a neurologist with specialty training.

Cerebrospinal fluid tap. A CSF tap involves collecting the CSF fluid by inserting a small needle into the space around the spinal cord. This requires that the patient be under anesthesia. Analysis of this fluid in dogs with polyradiculoneuritis often reveals elevated levels of protein. Evaluation of the fluid may help rule out other causes of the clinical signs.

Arterial blood gas. An ABG provides information about how well the animal is breathing and if there are appropriate oxygen levels in the blood. In patients that appear to be demonstrating weakness of the respiratory muscles, this test is a useful way to assess the need for a respirator to assist breathing.

Therapy In-depth

There is no specific treatment for polyradiculoneuritis. Most animals recover over a period of 3 to 6 weeks, but some animals may take many months to recover, or may never recover completely. The most important aspect of treating these patients is to provide ample supportive care. Treatment consists of:

Soft bedding or a waterbed is necessary to prevent bed sores since animals are generally paralyzed when the disease is at its worst point. Additionally, it is important to turn the animals onto their opposite side several times a day. This insures that the lungs are not being constantly compressed on one side, which may make them more prone to infection.

Physical therapy is an important component of care. Paralyzed muscles atrophy or shrink and then develop contracture (muscle shortening) secondary to lack of use. Massaging the muscles and moving the limbs manually, including flexing and extending the joints several times a day help limit the secondary muscle damage. Hydrotherapy with whirlpool baths is also appropriate, if available.

Ventilation. Mechanical ventilation, or assisted breathing on a respirator, may be required in cases that develop respiratory muscle paralysis. In these cases, the animals die without a respirator. This can only be performed at specialty practices or university veterinary hospitals and is an extremely labor intensive and expensive procedure.

Animals generally maintain their ability to urinate and defecate, but they can develop urine scalding and secondary skin infections if they are not kept very clean, as they cannot get up to eliminate. Very careful hygiene is important.

Pages 1 2

Printable Version

Digg

Del.icio.us

Stumble

Share this Article with a Friend Email To:

Have a Pet Question?

Send Your Pet Question to Dr. Jon
and His Staff of Veterinarians

Dr. Jon's Newsletter

Yes! Send Me the Latest Health Information, Pet Tips, Pet Stories and more...

Search Over 15,000 articles

1 Botulism
Botulism is a rapidly fatal disease resulting from nerve toxin produced by **Clostridium** bacteria. Dogs generally come in contact with the bacterial toxin is by consuming dead animals that contain the...
Read More
2 Tick Bite Paralysis
Tick bite paralysis is an uncommon illness in dogs that occurs after a tick attaches to a dog, begins to engorge with blood and finally secretes a toxin. This toxin blocks the nerve function to the muscles...
Read More
3 Myasthenia Gravis
Myasthenia gravis is a disorder characterized by muscular weakness that is aggravated by activity and relieved by rest. It is caused by an impairment of transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles, which...
Read More

Over 10,000 Veterinarian Approved Articles

Dogs & Puppies

Dog Breeds

labrador retriever, golden retriever, yorkshire terriers, german shepherds, beagle, boxers

Dog Medication

dog allergy medication, dog pain medication, dog anxiety medication, dog flea medication

Dog Products

dog bowls, dog crates, dog toys, dog beds, dog ramps, dog food storage, dog tags

Dog Symptoms

dog vomiting, dog limping, dog diarrhea, dog bad breath, dog coughing, dog seizures

Dog Health

dog cancer, dog diabetes, dog epilepsy, dog hip dysplasia, dog health, sick dog

Dog Care

dog vaccination, dog microchipping, dog grooming, dog neutering, dog spaying, dogs mating

Dog Training

dog aggression, dog barking, dog chewing, dog behavior, dog jumping, dog whisperer

Dog Pictures

puppy pictures, funny dogs, cute dogs, dog breeds, sleeping dogs, silly dogs, small dogs

Cats

Cat Breeds

persian, siamese cats, devon rex, ragdoll cats, sphynx, maine coon cat

Cat Medication

cat flea medication, cat heartworm control, cat tick medications

Cat Products

cat litter box, cat food, cat bed, cat flea collar, cat carrier, cat urine odor

Cat Symptoms

cat vomiting, cat limping, cat diarrhea, cat bad breath, cat coughing

Cat Health

cat health, cat liver cancer, cat diabetes, cat scratch fever, cat aids, sick cat

Cat Care

cat vaccination, cat grooming, cat microchipping, cat neutering, cat spaying

Cat Behavior

cat urine marking, cat furniture scratching, cat litterbox training, cat toilet training, cat fears

Cat Pictures

cute cats, funny cats, playful cats, fat cats, jumping cats, lazy cats, sleeping cats, cute kittens

1 Botulism
Botulism is a rapidly fatal disease resulting from nerve toxin produced by **Clostridium** bacteria. Dogs generally come in contact with the bacterial toxin is by consuming dead animals that contain the...
Read More
2 Tick Bite Paralysis
Tick bite paralysis is an uncommon illness in dogs that occurs after a tick attaches to a dog, begins to engorge with blood and finally secretes a toxin. This toxin blocks the nerve function to the muscles...
Read More
3 Myasthenia Gravis
Myasthenia gravis is a disorder characterized by muscular weakness that is aggravated by activity and relieved by rest. It is caused by an impairment of transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles, which...
Read More

Acute Polyradiculoneuritis (Coonhound Paralysis)

Acute Polyradiculoneuritis (Coonhound Paralysis)

Related Articles

Over 10,000 Veterinarian Approved Articles