Abstract
Objective
To describe the clinical presentation and outcome of small animals that sustained ballistic trauma to the axial skeleton.
Design
Retrospective, multicenter observational study.
Setting
Two university teaching hospitals.
Animals
Twelve client-owned dogs and 1 client-owned cat sustaining ballistic trauma to the axial skeleton.
Interventions
None.
Measurements and Main Results
Thirteen animals sustaining ballistic trauma to the axial skeleton with complete medical records were included in this study. Twelve of 13 animals survived to discharge; 1 animal was euthanized shortly after presentation. Two animals had ophthalmic abnormalities, 9 animals had neurologic lesions, and 2 animals had no significant ophthalmic or neurologic deficits. Neurolocalization of injury included peripheral vestibular (n = 1), multifocal brain (n = 1), brainstem (n = 1), C1–C5 (n = 1), C6–T2 (n = 1), T3–L3 (n = 3), and L4–S3 (n = 1). Seven dogs underwent surgical intervention: 5 neurosurgical, 1 enucleation, and 1 laparotomy. Median hospitalization time was 6 days with a range from 1 to 31 days.
Conclusions
Overall prognosis and outcome are variable and dependent on specific injury location and degree of injury.
Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, EarlyView.Wiley: Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care: Table of Contents