Page 4 - Paws and Hooves - Autumn 2022
P. 4
A quick diagnosis helps Vinnie
eat again
hen Vinnie, a 15-month-old Hungarian Vizsla, lost his appetite and started drooling, his owner
W Stuart knew something wasn’t right. Despite treatment, Vinnie began regurgitating his food.
The neurology team suspected an uncommon muscle disease but needed further testing to be
sure. With Vinnie at risk of developing aspiration pneumonia secondary to this regurgitation, a quick
diagnosis was critical.
Up until this point, Vinnie had been a typical Vizsla caused by muscle
puppy, with lots of energy, enjoying long walks and inflammation. His
running off the lead with Stuart riding his mountain muscle wastage
bike beside him. Stuart explained, and poor food
intake, were likely
“Vizsla’s are referred to as ‘the velcro to be the reasons
dog’ as they constantly want to be within why Vinnie was
touching distance of their owners. Vinnie losing weight.
is no exception and is like a shadow to The Neurology
Team suspected
anyone in our family.” the underlying cause could be inflammatory
polymyopathy. While uncommon, it is known to affect
Vinnie spent six days in the RVC’s Small Animal Hungarian Vizslas and is thought to be a hereditary
Referral Hospital. It was a nerve-wracking time for disease.
the family, but it was made easier with daily updates
about his condition. Radiographs revealed Vinnie’s Sadly, the condition often has a poor outcome. With
oesophagus was dilated, causing food to sit in a quick diagnosis, prompt treatment can enable
his throat rather than move through his digestive patients to start eating again and regain weight. The
system. Neurogen Tru Trace electrodiagnostics machine,
funded by the ACT earlier this year, enabled the
A blood test showed an increase in a muscle team to study Vinnie’s muscles in a non-invasive
enzyme called creatine kinase. This indicated way. A needle electrode was placed into the
that Vinnie had muscle cell death, probably
muscle to record abnormal activity and voluntary
contractions. The procedure was safe to perform,
and Vinnie didn’t need to be sedated. The results
showed the team’s suspicions were correct.
The Neurology Team put Vinnie on
immunosuppressive treatments to control his
muscle inflammation and nurses frequently fed him
small amounts of food while he was in an upright
position. This, along with gastroprotectants, reduced
the amount of food Vinnie brought back up. There
was a steady improvement in Vinnie’s symptoms,
and he was discharged from the hospital, with
daily medication and a food programme. Dr Abbe
Crawford, Clinician in Neurology and Neurosurgery,
told us,
“Vinnie’s owners have been very vigilant
at keeping on top of his medications and
they keep a detailed diary of his daily
progress.”
4 Paws & Hooves Autumn 2022
