Head and spinal trauma are common in cats that are hit by cars, fall from windows, are bitten or are struck by a person. Because many trauma cats have chest, limb and abdominal injuries as well, the neurologic examination comes after the cat is stabilized. The priorities are to protect the brain from secondary injury, to avoid moving an unstable spine, and to judge prognosis from the neurologic findings, in particular deep pain perception.
Key facts
Traumatic injury (brain or spinal cord) at a glance- Species and system: cats; brain (traumatic brain injury, TBI) and spinal cord (spinal cord injury, SCI).
- Causes: road traffic accidents, falls (high-rise syndrome), bites and blunt trauma.
- Classic presentation: TBI with altered mentation, anisocoria, abnormal reflexes; SCI with paresis or paralysis below a localizable lesion.
- Triage tool: the modified Glasgow Coma Scale (MGCS) for TBI, followed serially.
- Treatment: ABC stabilization; avoid hypotension and hypoxemia; hyperosmolar therapy for raised intracranial pressure; immobilize suspected spinal injury; surgery for unstable fractures or luxations.
- Zoonotic or reportable: no.
What's inside
11 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 3 tables, 3 self-test questions and 7 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.