Osteoartrosi del cane: caratteristiche tomografiche nelle articolazioni dell’anca, ginocchio e tibio-tarsica

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is one of the major causes of chronic pain in dogs, therefore it is important to diagnose and evaluate this pathology. Diagnostic imaging is therefore crucial for understanding, in a non-invasive way, the degree of osteoarthritis by recognizing the characteristic signs of this pathology. Usually the most used diagnostic imaging method is radiography, so this thesis aims to demonstrate the validity of the use of Computed Tomography in the evaluation and diagnosis of osteoarthritis (specifically in the hip, knee and talo-crural joints). To date, there are few studies on the use of CT in the evaluation of osteoarthritis, especially research on pelvic limb joints. Between 2013 to 2019, the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Parma has analyzed the CT studies of 43 dogs of mixed breed and mixed age. CT studies have allowed to highlight and then subsequently measure and report the main signs of osteoarthritis including: osteophytosis, subchondral cysts, signs of sclerosis and intraosseous insertional cysts.