Evaluation of Radiological Features in Discospondylitis with Infected Tuberculosis and Brucellosis in German Shepherd Dogs

Spondylitis is actually vertebral osteomyelitis, and if the infection also involves discs, it is called discospondylitis, which is a complication of diseases such as tuberculosis and Brucellosis.

This study aimed to determine radiological properties of discospondylitis due to tuberculosis and brucellosis infections differentially in German Shepherd dogs.

This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out in affected German Shepherd dogs with chronic discospondylitis due to tuberculosis (TB) and Brucellosis. Data were collected based on clinical and laboratory symptoms, as well as plain radiography and myelography findings. : In total, 13 dogs were studied, of which 9, including 5 males (55.6%) and 4 females (44.4%), were affected with Brucellosis, and 4, including 2 males (50%) and 2 females (50%), were infected with TB. In the diagnostic imaging of the vertebrae, degenerative lesions in affected dogs with TB were significantly more than those affected with brucellosis (with a significant level P=0.026<0.05). Sclerotic lesions were observed in 44.4% of the brucellosis patients and 25% of the TB patients, while lytic lesions were found in less than 50% of brucellosis patients and more than 70% of TB patients.

Based on this study, degenerative and lytic lesions in TB cases were more than brucellosis patients; however, sclerotic lesions in TB patients were less than brucellosis patients. The severity of each of these complications and the site of involvement of the vertebrae can be differential features for diagnosing the radiology of TB from Brucellosis in this breed of dogs.