Epileptic Dog with Osteoarthritis

Linda E. Luther, DVM, MVSc, DACVIM (SAIM), Broadview Animal Hospital

ArticleLast Updated July 20151 min readPeer Reviewed
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Rambo, a 7-year-old, neutered male golden retriever, was presented for evaluation of osteoarthritis (OA). The dog had been diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy 4 years earlier, and his seizures were well controlled with phenobarbital at 5 mg/kg PO twice a day. On physical examination, the dog had difficulty rising and exhibited apparent pain on palpation of the hip joints. Results of a complete blood cell count were normal. Results of a serum chemistry panel, however, disclosed elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) at 790 U/L (ie, 6 times normal; reference range, 5-131 U/L) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) at 180 U/L (ie, 1.5 times normal; reference range, 12-118 U/L), with a decreased total thyroxine (T4) concentration of less than 0.5 g/dL (reference range, 0.8-3.5 g/dL). Pelvic radiography revealed degenerative joint disease. The serum phenobarbital level was 28 g/mL (therapeutic range, 15-45 g/mL).

ALP = alkaline phosphatase, ALT = alanine aminotransferase, GI = gastrointestinal, NSAID = nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, OA = osteoarthritis, T4 = thyroxine