Purdoiu Robert Cristian, Voiculeț Ionuț Claudiu, Aldea Joana Alexandra, Lăcătuș Radu, Patrichi Teodora, Lucaci Felix Daniel, Chan Tatjana, Kircher Patrick, Mârza Sorin Marian
Laboratory of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Clinic for Diagnostic Imaging, Department of Diagnostics and Clinical Services, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 260, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Animals (Basel). 2025 May 19;15(10):1468. doi: 10.3390/ani15101468.
This study evaluated attenuation values of lumbar epaxial musculature in dogs with acute spinal pathology using computed tomography (CT) and compared them with values in dogs without spinal disease. Sixty client-owned dogs were included: thirty dogs with thoracolumbar spinal lesions (intervertebral disc herniation) and thirty control dogs without spinal abnormalities. Mean Hounsfield unit (HU) values of epaxial muscles (multifidus-longissimus-iliocostalis group) were measured bilaterally at three lumbar levels for each dog-one level cranial to the lesion, the lesion level, and one level caudal to the lesion; for controls, the corresponding segments were T13, L1, L2, and L3. Dogs with spinal pathology showed a significant local decrease in muscle HU at the lesion site (average 48 HU) compared to the segment cranial to the lesion (50-51 HU, < 0.01). In contrast, control dogs had relatively uniform muscle HU (~52-54 HU) across T13-L3 with no significant differences between these levels. Side to side differences were minimal in both groups. A logistic regression using the HU drop between segments correctly classified ~70% of cases, indicating moderate diagnostic value. Age and breed influenced overall muscle HU; older dogs had lower values (r = -0.39, = 0.03 in controls), and French Bulldogs showed lower HU than other breeds. In conclusion, dogs with acute thoracolumbar disc herniation exhibit a focal reduction in paraspinal muscle HU at the lesion level. This acute change is subtle but detectable with CT and may serve as an additional indicator of lesion presence or chronicity, although its clinical utility requires further investigation in larger studies.
本研究使用计算机断层扫描（CT）评估了患有急性脊柱疾病的犬腰椎轴上肌肉组织的衰减值，并将其与无脊柱疾病犬的值进行比较。纳入了60只客户拥有的犬：30只患有胸腰椎脊柱病变（椎间盘突出）的犬和30只无脊柱异常的对照犬。对每只犬在三个腰椎水平双侧测量轴上肌肉（多裂肌 - 最长肌 - 髂肋肌群）的平均亨氏单位（HU）值——病变上方一个水平、病变水平以及病变下方一个水平；对于对照组，相应节段为T13、L1、L2和L3节段。与病变上方节段（50 - 51 HU，P < 0.01）相比，患有脊柱疾病的犬在病变部位肌肉HU显著局部降低（平均48 HU）。相比之下，对照犬在T13 - L3节段肌肉HU相对均匀（~52 - 54 HU），这些节段之间无显著差异。两组的左右差异均最小。使用节段间HU下降的逻辑回归正确分类了约70%的病例，表明具有中等诊断价值。年龄和品种影响整体肌肉HU；老年犬的值较低（对照组中r = -0.39，P = 0.03），法国斗牛犬的HU低于其他品种。总之，患有急性胸腰椎椎间盘突出的犬在病变水平的椎旁肌肉HU出现局灶性降低。这种急性变化很细微，但CT可检测到，尽管其临床实用性需要在更大规模研究中进一步调查，但它可能作为病变存在或慢性化的额外指标。
