N07 - '50-step Walking Test’ - A Pragmatic Outcome Measure for Recovery After Canine Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract: Background– Surprisingly, there is currently no agreed definition of ‘ambulation’ following recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) in dogs.




Hypothesis/Objectives – To create and validate a new definition of ambulation in dogs recovering from SCI.




Animals – 206 client-owned dogs weighing < 20kg: 110 ambulatory dogs were used to determine relationship between limb (ulna) length and distance covered by 50 step cycles; 96 non-ambulatory dogs that underwent surgical decompression for acute thoracolumbar disc herniation.




Methods– Prospective descriptive study. Ambulatory dogs were leash-walked and the distance covered by 50 step cycles was measured. Ulna length was measured in each dog and a regression equation relating ulna length to 50-step cycle distance was generated. The non-ambulatory dogs underwent decompressive surgery and were followed until they recovered to walk the distance covered by 50 step cycles. Recovery of ability to walk and the time taken to achieve this distance were compared amongst dogs that were paraparetic, paraplegic and paraplegic with absent pain sensation.




Results– 11/25 dogs without pain sensation at presentation recovered the ability to walk the 50-step distance at 4 months, compared with 69/71 dogs with intact pain sensation. Median time to recovery was 87 days in dogs presenting without pain sensation and 14 days in both paretic and plegic dogs.




Conclusions and clinical importance– The 50-step walking test provides a standard outcome that is easily applied by owners, can reliably detect differences in outcome following different severities of thoracolumbar SCI and could be used in future clinical trials of new therapies.