Case report: Traumatic spinal cord injury in a dog following an intramuscular injection

Traumatic spinal cord injuries have a variety of causes. Some are described in numerous publications, while others are rarely reported. This case report discusses an iatrogenic trauma of the spinal cord seemingly caused by an intramuscular injection in the lumbar muscles. A puppy was presented with an acute onset of paraparesis and lumbar pain immediately following an injection into the epaxial muscles. After clinical and neurological examination, a lesion of the spinal cord between the third thoracic and the third lumbar segment was suspected. Fluid-sensitive sequences in magnetic resonance imaging showed a hyperintense signal within the spinal cord extending between the third and fifth lumbar vertebra. In another sequence, a canal-like structure in the epaxial muscles was found, enhanced after contrast medium application, which was interpreted as a needle tract, substantiating the suspicion of a trauma following an injection. After an ambulatory therapy with glucocorticoids and proton pump inhibitors, followed by several months of consistent physical therapy, the dog had nearly completely recovered. More than one and a half years after the injury the patient showed only mild to moderate delayed proprioception and occasionally faecal incontinence.