Basilar skull fracture in a Thoroughbred colt : radiography or computed tomography?

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Authors

Lim, Chee Kin
Saulez, Montague Newton
Viljoen, Adrienne
Carstens, Ann

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OpenJournals Publishing

Abstract

A two-year-old Thoroughbred colt was presented to the Equine Clinic, Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital for head trauma after rearing and falling backwards, hitting his head on the ground. Following medical therapy for acute onset neurological impairment secondary to a suspected basilar skull fracture, the horse was anaesthetised and computed tomography of the skull was performed. A diagnosis of a comminuted basilar skull fracture was made and skull radiographs were taken for comparison. The horse was subsequently euthanased owing to the poor prognosis; necropsy findings were compatible with imaging findings. The value and limitation of computed tomography versus radiography for the diagnosis of basilar skull fracture are discussed in this report.

Description

C.K.L. (University of Pretoria) is the primary author and was responsible for interpretation of the CT and radiographic images as well as writing of the manuscript and final proofreading. M.N.S. (University of Pretoria) and A.V. (University of Pretoria) were the primary clinicians for this case and provided intellectual input to the manuscript. A.C. (University of Pretoria) assisted in the radiographic interpretation, provided valuable input to the manuscript and assisted in the final proofreading of the manuscript.

Keywords

Thoroughbred horse, Skull fracture, Computed tomography, Skull radiographs

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Citation

Lim, C.K., Saulez, M.N., Viljoen, A. & Carstens, A., 2013, ‘Basilar skull fracture in a Thoroughbred colt: Radiography or computed tomography?’, Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 84(1), Art. #251, 6 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.4102/jsava.v84i1.251