Volume 8 | Issue 4 Article 13
1946
Posterior Paralysis
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(1946) "Posterior Paralysis," Iowa State University Veterinarian: Vol. 8 : Iss. 4 , Article 13.
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101.2° F., and the pulse was rapid and
weak (120). The urine was acid in re- Posterior Paralysis. The patient
action. Considering the history and the in this case was a 21Jz-year-old,
symptoms presented above, a tentative female albino Pekingese. The animal was
diagnosis of enterotoxemia was made. presented at the Stange Memorial Clinic
Treatment December 14, 1945, with the history of
having not been able to use its rear quar-
The treatment administered to the ani- ters during the previous week. The symp-
mal the first day consisted of an enema toms presented were complete paralysis
of 4 gallons of water with 1/2 pound of of the rear quarters and when the animal
magnesium sulfate. A drench was given attempted locomotion, it was forced to
per os of 4 ounces of sodium bicarbonate
drag these parts.
and 1 ounce of bovine tonic (gentian, nux This condition was diagnosed as pos-
vomica, and tartar emetic). The treat- terior paralysis due to a vitamin B defi-
ment given on the second day was similar
ciency.
that given on the first day. The third day
the animal showed additional symptoms Treatment
which were a jerking movement of the
head, grinding of the teeth, inability to The patient was treated as follows:
stand and blindness. These new compli- Dec. 15 to Jan. 3-Two cc. of vitamin
cations with the developing nervous symp- B complex was administered per orum
toms made the prognosis unfavorable, and and 1 cc. of thiamine hydrochloride sub-
since death was evident, euthanasia and a cutaneously.
necropsy were performed. Jan. 4 to Jan. 21-Brewer's yeast tab-
The report from the necropsy was that lets were given. At this time it was re-
of a well-marked, diffuse catarrhal enter- ported that the animal still had a slight
itis, mucous colitis and a wide-spread, ataxia in the rear quarters, but was able
severe interstitial emphysema. No im- to stand.
paction or obstruction was found in the
gastro-intestinal tract. The mineral oil Jan. 23 to Jan. 25-The patient was con-
tinued on Brewer's yeast, and could stand,
and other material administered were
found lying in the rumen and seeping walk, and run with some incoordination
still present.
posteriorly. This indicated that there was
a complete atony of the whole gastro-in- Jan. 26 to Jan. 28-Brewer's yeast tab-
testinal tract. lets were given with continued improve-
This is the third case of this type that ment, but the animal seemed to lose its
has been in the clinic this spring of 1946. balance when it attempted to turn.
All of them had been fed corn fodder in Feb. 4-The animal was discharged,
their ration. Each animal showed a mark- being able to handle itself fairly well, but
ed toxemia and gastro-intestinal atony. still showing some incoordination during
With these factors in mind, the possibil- rapid motion.
ity of some toxin being present in the In the treatment, the injections of vita-
corn stalks can not be overlooked. How- min B complex and thiamine hydrochlor-
ever, corn-stalk toxemia could not be de- ide that were given subcutaneously were
finitely proven and since the literature responsible for correcting the deficiency
on this subject is incomplete, further ob- which 'Yas the cause of the paralysis. The
servations must be made and more data Brewer's yeast tablets were given after
collected before corn stalks can be con- the deficiency had been corrected to main-
sidered the cause of this disease in cattle. tain a high level of the vitamin to aid in
-R. T. Howard. '47 the repair of the nerve tissue that was
affected.
It is reported that Russia had 50,000 In treating conditions such as this, it is
men in veterinary schools at the outbreak first necessary to determine whether or
of World War II. not the paralysis is due to trauma, as the
Spring, 1946 233
treatment will naturally vary with the hydrate intravenously. A dark gray ex-
cause. Therefore, diagnosis is of primary udate was present between the placenta
importance being made mainly by the and the wall of the uterus. The placental
process of elimination through the use of membranes showed considerable necrosis
history of possible injury, diet, and X-ray and were removed with difficulty. Linen
pictures. If nothing is present indicating sutures were used to close the recto-
trauma or intervertebral involvement, vaginal tear and 6 number 10 capsules
and if the diet lacks meat or vitamin B, a of sulfanilamide were placed in the uter-
defiiciency of this vitamin may be diagnos- us. There seemed to be considerable loss
ed and improvement expected by therapy of tissue between the rectum and vulva
if the condtion has not progressed too far. which was attributed to pigs. Mares nor-
The vitamin B complex mixture used mally stand when giving birth to foals
consisted of the following in a 5 cc. solu- but with this recto-vaginal tear it is
tion: thought she took a recumbent position
and thus the pigs gained access to her.
Thiamine HCl ......... ...... ..... 10 mgm.
Three quarts of mineral oil were ad-
Riboflavin ........ .... ............. ..... 10 mgm.
ministered per orum daily to maintain
Pyridoxine HCl .. .................. 5 mgm.
proper consistency of the feces and re-
Ca Pantothenate ................ 50 mgm.
duce irritation of the torn area. General
Nicotinamide ...................... 250 mgm.
wound treatment was administered post-
The Brewer's yeast tablets used were operatively.
made up of: On the first post-operative day the su-
Vit. Bl ................................ 25 LU. tures were partly torn loose and feces
Vito B~ ................................ 25 gammas were being forced into the vagina through
Vito Bn ................................ 15 gammas the tear. Irrigation of the recto-vulvar
Pantothenic acid ................ 60 gammas region with potassium permanganate
Nicotinic acid ................ 175 gammas (1: 3000) was employed. It was impos-
sible to suture again the edges of the
wound because there was not enough
tissue to work with.
On May 9, 1946, the mare was dis-
Recto-Vaginal Tear. On April
charged with the recto-vaginal tear still
23, 1946, a 7 year old mare and
present to a certain degree, but with the
foal were presented at the Stange Mem-
edges healed. The owner was advised to
orial Clinic. The mare had given birth
bring her back to the clinic for further
to the foal earlier in the morning.
surgical treatment at a later date, after
The rectal and vaginal mucosae were
there had been complete healing bf the
badly torn with considerable loss of tis-
lacerated tissue.
sue from the septum between them and It is possible that artificial insemina-
their was extensive edema of the vulvar
tion would be a successful breeding pro-
region. The placental membranes were
cedure for this mare at a later date.
retained.
The foal was very weak and could not
stand. Blood transfusions, mare's milk, Blood of the porpoise is more like hu-
and a special formula consisting of 4 man blood than that of most animals.
tablespoons of lime water, 2 teaspoons of The sea-going mammal shows close af-
table sugar in % quart of whole milk finities with oxen and pigs.
were given to the foal, but it died approx-
imately 48 hours after admittance to the
clinic. Cultures taken revealed Escherich- Human brucellosis in Mexico, accord-
ia coli present in the heart blood. ing to the Castenada, is in the vast ma-
The mare was given chloral hydrate jority of the cases of the melitensis
orally and placed on the operating table. (goat) variety; the percentages of being:
Anesthesia was completed with chloral 1.3 suis, 3.5 abortus and 95.2 melitensis.
234 The Veterinary Student
