Question submitted by the audience in our recent webinar: Understanding Steroid Responsive Meningitis-Arteritis and Other Inflammatory Neurological Disorders of Dogs:
Just shy of 3rd birthday, my NSDTR (toller) was diagnosed via MRI and lumbar puncture with inflammation of the spinal column consistent with meningitis or encephalitis. He was prescribed 2 antibiotics and an anti-fungal in addition to high dose prednisone with a very slow taper over 10 months. He recovered fully. We have considered this to have been SRMA. This was 7 years ago and there has been no recurrence. Does this make it more likely that it was a single episode of meningitis, and not actually SRMA? How could we distinguish this?
Answer by: Karen R. Muñana, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Neurology):
Some dogs with SRMA will not have relapses, so that does not help in distinguishing SRMA from other causes of encephalitis or meningitis.
