Sarchahi Ali Asghar, Arbabi Mohammad, Mohebalian Hadi
Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Graduated from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Vet Med Sci. 2025 Sep;11(5):e70479. doi: 10.1002/vms3.70479.
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly infectious and often fatal disease in dogs, affecting various systems. Despite vaccination efforts, cases of distemper, especially the neurological form, remain a global concern due to its high fatality rate.
To investigate the effectiveness of phenobarbital and prednisolone in treating the neurological form of canine distemper (CD).
Thirty-five dogs with neurological signs of CD were included in the study after careful clinical examination. Confirmation of CD was based on clinical signs, rapid diagnostic tests, and RT-PCR testing of blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Dogs were treated with oral phenobarbital (2.5 mg/kg) and prednisolone (0.55 mg/kg) every 12 h. Treatment outcomes were categorised as recovered, died, or euthanised.
Out of the 35 dogs, 25 tested positive for CDV. Among positive cases (n = 25), two dogs mostly recovered, one dog partially recovered, one dog remained unchanged, 18 died (15 died naturally and three were euthanised), and three dogs were lost to follow-up. In the negative test group (10 dogs), eight dogs died, the outcome of one dog was unknown and one dog remained unchanged. Disease duration ranged from 2 to 586 days (average: 72 days in positive cases, 59.2 days in negative cases). The low recovery rate (8%) suggests limited effectiveness of the treatments used, including prednisolone, particularly for myoclonus, which was the most frequent clinical sign. Regarding seizure management, while our study observed some effectiveness of phenobarbital in controlling seizures, it's important to note that the efficacy of phenobarbital can vary.
Small sample size and owner non-compliance limited the study.
Our findings suggest limited benefit from prednisolone for neurological CD. Further research is necessary to develop more effective treatment strategies for this devastating canine viral disease.
犬瘟热病毒（CDV）是一种在犬类中具有高度传染性且往往致命的疾病，会影响多个系统。尽管进行了疫苗接种，但由于其高死亡率，犬瘟热病例，尤其是神经型病例，仍然是一个全球关注的问题。
研究苯巴比妥和泼尼松龙治疗犬瘟热（CD）神经型的有效性。
经过仔细的临床检查后，35只出现CD神经症状的犬被纳入研究。CD的确诊基于临床症状、快速诊断测试以及血液和/或脑脊液（CSF）的逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测。犬每12小时口服苯巴比妥（2.5毫克/千克）和泼尼松龙（0.55毫克/千克）。治疗结果分为康复、死亡或安乐死。
35只犬中，25只CDV检测呈阳性。在阳性病例（n = 25）中，2只犬基本康复，1只犬部分康复，1只犬病情无变化，18只死亡（15只自然死亡，3只被安乐死），3只犬失访。在阴性检测组（10只犬）中，8只犬死亡，1只犬结局未知，1只犬病情无变化。病程为2至586天（平均：阳性病例72天，阴性病例59.2天）。低康复率（8%）表明所用治疗方法，包括泼尼松龙，效果有限，尤其是对最常见的临床症状肌阵挛。关于癫痫发作的管理，虽然我们的研究观察到苯巴比妥在控制癫痫发作方面有一定效果，但需要注意的是，苯巴比妥的疗效可能会有所不同。
样本量小和主人不依从限制了研究。
我们的研究结果表明泼尼松龙对神经型CD的益处有限。有必要进一步开展研究，以开发针对这种毁灭性犬类病毒疾病更有效的治疗策略。
