Panosteitis, sometimes shortened to pano among breeders,[1] is an occasionally seen long bone condition in large breed dogs. It manifests with sudden, unexplained pain and lameness that may shift from leg to leg, usually between 5 and 14 months of age, earning the nickname "growing pains. "[2] Signs such as fever, weight loss, anorexia, and lethargy can also be seen. The cause is unknown, but genetics, stress, infection, metabolism, or an autoimmune component may be factors.[3] It has also been suggested that rapid growth and high-protein food are involved in the pathogenesis.[4] Whole blood analysis may show an elevated white blood cell count; this finding lends support to the theory that panosteitis is due to an infection.[5]
The humerus is most commonly affected.[7] Males are more commonly affected than females.[8]
^Frawley, Ed. "Panosteitis or PANO"(PDF). Leerberg Enterprises. p. 3. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
^Ettinger, Stephen J.; Feldman, Edward C. (1995). Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine (4th ed.). W.B. Saunders Company. ISBN0-7216-6795-3.
^"Panosteitis". The Merck Veterinary Manual. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
^Schawalder P, Andres HU, Jutzi K, Stoupis C, Bösch C (2002). "Canine panosteitis: an idiopathic bone disease investigated in the light of a new hypothesis concerning pathogenesis. Part 1: Clinical and diagnostic aspects". Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd. 144 (3): 115–30. PMID11980379.
^Demko J, McLaughlin R (2005). "Developmental orthopaedic disease". Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 35 (5): 1111–35, v. doi:10.1016/j.cvsm.2005.05.002. PMID16129135.