Clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome in 8 dogs and 2 cats with global hypoxic‐ischemic brain injury (2010‐2022)

• Published in: Journal of veterinary internal medicine Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 1428 - 1437
• Main Authors: Crawford, Abbe Harper, Beltran, Elsa, Danciu, Cecilia‐Gabriella, Yaffy, Dylan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-07-2023; Wiley
• Subjects: Animal euthanasia; Ataxia; canine; Cats; cerebral; Coma; Dogs; Electroencephalography; feline; General anesthesia; Glucose; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Hypoxia; Ischemia; ischemic; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical prognosis; Medical records; SMALL ANIMAL; Traumatic brain injury; Veterinary medicine; United States > US; Maine; hypoxia; ischemic; canine; feline; cerebral
• ISSN: 0891-6640; 1939-1676
• DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16790

Background
Global hypoxic‐ischemic brain injury (GHIBI) results in variable degrees of neurological dysfunction. Limited data exists to guide prognostication on likelihood of functional recovery.
Hypothesis
Prolonged duration of hypoxic‐ischemic insult and absence of neurological improvement in the first 72 hours are negative prognostic indicators.
Animals
Ten clinical cases with GHIBI.
Methods
Retrospective case series describing 8 dogs and 2 cats with GHIBI, including clinical signs, treatment, and outcome.
Results
Six dogs and 2 cats experienced cardiopulmonary arrest or anesthetic complication in a veterinary hospital and were promptly resuscitated. Seven showed progressive neurological improvement within 72 hours of the hypoxic‐ischemic insult. Four fully recovered and 3 had residual neurological deficits. One dog presented comatose after resuscitation at the primary care practice. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed diffuse cerebral cortical swelling and severe brainstem compression and the dog was euthanized.
Two dogs suffered out‐of‐hospital cardiopulmonary arrest, secondary to a road traffic accident in 1 and laryngeal obstruction in the other. The first dog was euthanized after MRI that identified diffuse cerebral cortical swelling with severe brainstem compression. In the other dog, spontaneous circulation was recovered after 22 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. However, the dog remained blind, disorientated, and ambulatory tetraparetic with vestibular ataxia and was euthanized 58 days after presentation. Histopathological examination of the brain confirmed severe diffuse cerebral and cerebellar cortical necrosis.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
Duration of hypoxic‐ischemic insult, diffuse brainstem involvement, MRI features, and rate of neurological recovery could provide indications of the likelihood of functional recovery after GHIBI.