Prevalence, risk factors and outcome of acute thoracic and lumbar myelopathies in non-chondrodystrophic dogs.

Degenerative IVDD is the most common cause of acute myelopathy in non-chondrodystrophic dogs, especially older, heavy, neutered males.

This retrospective, single-center study evaluated the prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of acute thoracic and lumbar myelopathies in 178 non-chondrodystrophic (NCD) dogs presenting to an emergency neurology service between 2014 and 2024. Dogs were classified into five diagnostic categories: degenerative (32.6%), traumatic (27.5%), vascular (15.7%), inflammatory (14%), and neoplastic (10.1%). Degenerative intervertebral disk disease (IVDD) was the most common diagnosis, predominantly affecting older, neutered male dogs weighing more than 25 kg, typically presenting with chronic, non-lateralized myelopathy and acute clinical worsening. The study examined multiple epidemiological and clinical variables at presentation—including breed, sex, body weight, age, onset and progression of clinical signs, neurological grade, lesion localization, trauma or exercise association, lateralization, and spinal hyperesthesia—to identify factors that may help prioritize differential diagnoses. Prognostic outcomes were assessed via mean time to improvement (MTI) and mean ambulatory recovery time (MART) across diagnostic groups, with neurological grade at admission also evaluated for its prognostic relevance. This study provides clinically useful prevalence data and highlights key signalment and presentation features that can guide diagnostic prioritization in NCD dogs with acute myelopathy, a population that has historically been understudied compared to chondrodystrophic breeds.

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