Osteoarthritis in dogs Early diagnosis of canine osteoarthritis prior to the occurrence of irreversible changes

Abstract

Characterized as a chronic, degenerative, pain-inducing disease of the entire joint organ, osteoarthritis is the most common orthopedic condition in dogs with a major impact on their quality of life. Therapeutic options are very limited, focusing mainly on a palliative management of the disease. Treatment measures cannot interfere with the vicious cycle of ongoing degenerative changes, as the disease can only be diagnosed when it is already relatively advanced. Based on this situation, the objective of this systematic literature review is to evaluate present to futuristic diagnostic methods, in order to determine if the early diagnosis of canine osteoarthritis prior to the occurrence of irreversible changes is possible at the present stage. Furthermore, possibly goal-leading paths are investigated.