Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid from the cerebellomedullary and lumbar cisterns of dogs with focal neurologic disease: 145 cases (1985-1987)

• Published in: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association Vol. 196; no. 11; p. 1841
• Main Authors: Thomson, C.E. (University of Glasgow, Bearsden, Glasgow, United Kingdom), Kornegay, J.N, Stevens, J.B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.06.1990
• Subjects: Animals; BRAIN; Central Nervous System Diseases - cerebrospinal fluid; Central Nervous System Diseases - veterinary; CEREBRO; CEREBROSPINAL FLUID; CHIEN; Dog Diseases - cerebrospinal fluid; DOGS; ENCEPHALE; EPINE DORSALE; ESPINA DORSAL; FLUIDO CEREBROESPINAL; LIQUIDE CEPHALORACHIDIEN; NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES; PATHOLOGIE; PATHOLOGY; PATOLOGIA; PERRO; Retrospective Studies; Spinal Puncture - veterinary; SPINE; TRASTORNOS DEL SISTEMA NERVIOSO; TROUBLE DU SYSTEME NERVEUX
• ISSN: 0003-1488; 1943-569X
• DOI: 10.2460/javma.1990.196.11.1841

Data were obtained from 158 CSF samples from 145 dogs with focal, noninfectious/noninflammatory neurologic disease. The effect of lesion location and the duration and severity of clinical signs were studied. One hundred and twenty-five samples were obtained from the cerebellomedullary cistern (CMC), and 33 were obtained from the lumbar cistern (LC). Intracranial and cervical disease affected the CSF from the CMC more often than did thoracolumbar disease. However, lumbar CSF was more frequently affected by disease anywhere along the neuraxis. For compressive spinal cord disease, the protein concentration at both cisterns was more often high in acute, clinically severe lesions. Intracranial lesions consistently caused abnormalities in CSF from both the CMC (7 of 7; 100%) and LC (2 of 2; 100%). Abnormalities were identified in 16 of 38 (42%) and 5 of 7 (71%) CMC and LC samples, respectively, in dogs with cervical disease. In dogs with thoracolumbar lesions, only 22 of 80 (27.5%) CMC samples were abnormal, compared with 21 of 24 (87.5%) LC samples. These findings suggest that CSF collected cranial to the lesion may be normal or only mildly altered by focal neurologic disease. Fluid obtained caudal to the lesion presumably is more substantially altered because of the predominant caudal flow of CSF. To maximize the yield of diagnostic information from CSF analysis, the fluid should preferably be obtained caudad to the disease site; however, because of problems associated with lumbar puncture, we suggest that CSF from the CMC also be obtained.