2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

ST was significantly higher (consistent with hypoalgesia) in the pelvic limbs of SCI-affected dogs at days 3, 10 and 30 post-operatively when compared to normal dogs (p < 0.05). No significant difference in thoracic limb ST values was observed between groups. A progressive decrease in pelvic limb ST values occurred in SCI-affected dogs over time, consistent with improvement toward normal sensation or development of allondynia. This finding correlated inversely with locomotor scores (p < 0.05, r range -0.44 to -0.63). A decline in thoracic limb ST was also observed across testing sessions on both normal and SCI-affected dogs. This may be the result of patient acclimation, operator training effect, or in SCI-affected dogs an effect of analgesic medications. This study supports the use of VFA to assess differences in ST between normal and SCI-affected dogs. However, future studies must focus on techniques to minimize or compensate for clinical, environmental and behavioral factors that may impact measurement of ST values in the clinical setting.