Stifle joint osteoarthritis in small-breed and medium-breed dogs is more severe after cranial cruciate ligament injury than medial patellar luxation

Ashley S. Villatoro, Anke Langenbach, Jin Yoon, Tanya C. Garcia, Denis J. Marcellin-Little

Background: A study of osteoarthritis (OA) in the stifle joints of small and medium dogs with cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) injury and/or medial patellar luxation (MPL).

Study: The study was a retrospective observational study that aimed to characterize the severity and distribution of OA in the stifle joints of 218 dogs from 10 small and medium breeds with CCL injury and/or MPL.

Methods: The authors used a previously reported scoring system to grade OA at 33 sites within the joint based on radiographs of the stifle joints. They also collected data on breed, age, weight, duration of lameness, and type of injury for each joint. They performed statistical analyses to compare OA scores among breeds, injury types, and other factors.

Results: The authors found that OA was more severe in joints with CCL injury than MPL, and that OA was more severe in heavier and older dogs. They also found that the pattern of OA did not differ among joints with CCL injury or MPL, and that OA was most severe at the medial and lateral aspects of the joint capsule, the fabellae, the patellar apex, and the femoral epicondyles.

Limitations: The authors acknowledged that the retrospective nature of the study limited their ability to infer causality or identify factors influencing OA progression. They also noted that the referral bias, the lack of body condition scoring, and the absence of other factors such as activity, nutrition, and comorbidities may have affected their results.

Conclusions: The authors concluded that, in small- and medium-breed dogs, the patterns of stifle OA joint after CCL injury or MPL are similar, but OA is more severe after CCL injury. They also concluded that age and weight are associated with OA severity, and that OA severity varies among breeds.

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