Acute intraparenchymal cerebral haemorrhage in an Iberian golden eagle – a case report

• Published in: BMC Veterinary Research
• Main Authors: Cláudia S. Baptista, Carla Monteiro, Hélder Fernandes, Ana Canadas, Luísa Guardão, Joana C. Santos
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018
• Subjects: Iberian golden eagle; Acute cerebral haemorrhage; Computed tomography; CT head anatomy; Veterinary medicine; SF600-1100; Aquila chrysaetos; golden eagle
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-018-1379-2; https://doaj.org/article/8c404a0ba4f840268dd600d3dd805921

Abstract Background In birds there are reports of intracranial lesions but not of the clinical, computed tomographic and histopathologic features of acute intraparenchymal cerebral haemorrhage in Iberian golden eagle. Case presentation The following report describes a case of a 30-year-old Iberian golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos homeyeri) with no history of trauma, presented with acute opisthotonus, left head tilt and circling, anisocoria, positional nystagmus, and ataxia. The main differential diagnosis were hypovitaminosis B or E and intracranial disease due to trauma, infection, toxins or masses. A computed tomography (CT) of the head was performed with an 8-slices scanner and evidenced a hyperdense (63–65 HU) non-enhancing homogeneous well delineated round area in the midbrain, with 6 mm in its highest diameter. The attenuation values and the non-enhancing nature of the lesion strongly suggested the diagnosis of acute intraparenchymal haemorrhage, which was histologically confirmed after necropsy. Conclusions In birds with a central neurological dysfunction, the diagnosis of acute brain haemorrhage should be considered when the CT evidences a non-enhancing, homogeneous, well circumscribed hyperattenuated round area.