Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with the Presence of Bilateral Femoral Capital Physeal Fractures in Felines: A Retrospective Study of 75 Cases

Introduction: Slipped capital femoral epiphyses (SCFE) are unilateral or bilateral spontaneous, fractures, presumed to occur secondary to physeal dysplasia. The study objective was to evaluate cats that sustained at least one SCFE and determine risk factors associated with the development of bilateral disease.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective, multi-institutional study of 75 cats that developed unilateral or bilateral SCFE. Results are presented in percentages for qualitative data and as mean (range) for quantitative data.

Results: Nineteen (25.3%) cats developed bilateral disease. The mean age at diagnosis for cats with bilateral SCFE was 21.4 months (12–30 months); the mean age for the entire population was 20.2 months (4.5–75 months). The mean weight of the 75 cats was 5.58 kg (1.99–10.8 kg) and was 6.04 kg (4.45–8.6 kg) in the bilateral group. Sixteen (84.2%) bilaterally affected cats were neutered males. Thirty-seven per cent of bilateral cases were British Shorthairs and another 37% were Maine Coons. Fourteen (18.7%) of 75 cats had a history of infection, and 6 (42%) of these cases were within the bilateral group.

Discussion/Conclusion: This is the largest population of patients within the current veterinary literature that have been evaluated after suffering from femoral capital physeal fractures and is the only study looking into risk factors associated with the development of bilateral SCFE. Risks associated with bilateral disease include being a neutered male, Maine Coon, or British Shorthair, an increased body weight, a history of infection prior to the development of an SCFE, and being 1.5 years or older when the first SCFE occurred.

Acknowledgment

None.

 

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
15. Juli 2025