Discospondylitis in a Labrador Retriever Presenting as Acute Abdomen
A three year old male intact Labrador Retriever presented to Cornell University Hospital for Animal’s Emergency Service on August 19, 2015 for evaluation of severe abdominal pain. The patient had a similar presentation of acute abdominal pain one month prior that was diagnosed as pancreatitis via histopathology. After initial blood work and abdominal ultrasound, a cause for the patient’s severe pain was not identified. Abdominal radiographs were performed, which revealed a lesion consistent with discospondylitis at the level of the second and third lumbar vertebrae. This diagnosis was confirmed with magnetic resonance imaging. A blood culture was positive for Streptococcus species, a urine culture yielded no growth, and a Brucella test was negative. The patient has improved with long-term antibiotic therapy and is no longer painful.