Van Koulil Q, Santifort K M, Willems D S, Bolen G, De Decker S, Bernardini M, Bergknut N, Van Soens I
IVC Evidensia Small Animal Referral Hospital "Hart van Brabant" Neurology, Waalwijk, Netherlands.
IVC Evidensia Small Animal Referral Hospital Arnhem Neurology, Arnhem, Netherlands.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Aug 1;12:1642066. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1642066. eCollection 2025.
Numerous vertebral anomalies have been characterised in dogs, whereas congenital vertebral malformations in cats have been less frequently described. The aim of the present study was to report and describe a vertebral malformation in cats recently reported in dogs-vertebral vascular canal dysplasia (VVCD)-to apply the previously reported scoring system to a feline study population, and to evaluate its inter- and intra-observer agreement.
CT and MRI studies from five different feline populations were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were included as VVCD-affected if they showed single or multiple VVCDs of the thoracic vertebral column and were scored using the previously published canine scoring system.
A total of 2,037 cats were evaluated, of which 541 (26.6%) were found to have VVCD. In addition to the thoracic vertebrae, cervical and lumbar vertebrae were also affected. Different score distributions were observed across thoracic vertebrae, suggesting a possible regional pattern. Most patients underwent CT (508), while only 33 had MRI.
CT was considered superior due to its higher spatial resolution and the availability of axial/transverse images for all vertebral bodies, which allowed improved visualisation of vertebral body anatomy and better evaluation of the form, shape, and depth of the dysplastic vascular canals. Especially in more subtle cases, transverse views were necessary to confirm the presence and assess the extent of VVCD. Intra- and interobserver agreement was variable (range 0.543-1.000 and 0.225-0.894, respectively) depending on adjustments to the scoring system, reflecting the role of subjectivity in the interpretation of VVCD with this system. Clinical relevance was not assessed. Future studies are required to investigate prevalence, explore possible etiologies, and determine the potential clinical significance of VVCD in feline spinal disease.
犬类中已发现众多脊椎异常情况，而猫先天性脊椎畸形的描述则较少。本研究的目的是报告并描述猫中最近在犬类中报道的一种脊椎畸形——脊椎血管管发育异常（VVCD），将先前报道的评分系统应用于猫的研究群体，并评估其观察者间和观察者内的一致性。
对来自五个不同猫群体的CT和MRI研究进行回顾性评估。如果患者的胸椎显示单个或多个VVCD，则被纳入受VVCD影响的患者，并使用先前发表的犬类评分系统进行评分。
共评估了2037只猫，其中541只（26.6%）被发现患有VVCD。除胸椎外，颈椎和腰椎也受到影响。在胸椎中观察到不同的评分分布，提示可能存在区域模式。大多数患者接受了CT检查（508例），而只有33例进行了MRI检查。
由于CT具有更高的空间分辨率以及所有椎体的轴向/横向图像可用性，因此被认为更具优势，这使得椎体解剖结构的可视化得到改善，并且对发育异常的血管管的形态、形状和深度进行更好的评估。特别是在更细微的病例中，横向视图对于确认VVCD的存在和评估其程度是必要的。观察者内和观察者间的一致性因对评分系统的调整而有所不同（分别为0.543 - 1.000和0.225 - 0.894），这反映了该系统在解释VVCD时主观性的作用。未评估临床相关性。未来需要进行研究以调查患病率、探索可能的病因，并确定VVCD在猫脊髓疾病中的潜在临床意义。
