Articles Related to Saville WJA
Retrospective Analysis of 185 Occurrences of Clinical Neurological Signs in 181 South American Camelids
Medical records of each occurrence of neurologic signs in 181 South American Camelids admitted on 185 occasions (90 alpacas and 95 llamas) were evaluated. Age ranged from 0 days to 20 years, but 70.5% of cases were ≥ 1 year old. Specific clinical diagnosis was achieved by cerebrospinal fluid analysis (CSF), radiographs, computed tomography, laboratory testing, or necropsy in 74% of cases. 54% of cases survived; 46% of cases died or were euthanized. The most common diagnosis (31%) was parasitic myelopathy/encephalopathy (PME). CSF eosinophilia ≥10% was found in 85% of parasitic spinal migrations but only in 55% of intracranial migrations, and 73% had increased protein in CSF. There was a seasonal bias for PME with 79% of cases occurring between October and March. Survival of PME cases was 77% for spinal migration but only 7% when intracranial migration occurred. The most common diagnoses, excluding PME, were infectious disease (15%) and trauma (12%). Most trauma cases involved the cervical spine of which 50% survived.