Disclosures: Yue Meng, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Case Diagnosis: This is a unique case of a captive gorilla with a presumed diagnosis of knee and hip osteoarthritis that was successfully treated with intra-articular corticosteroid injections.

Case Description or Program Description: Osteoarthritis is one of the most common joint disorders in adult humans worldwide. When patients are unable to describe symptoms or participate in a physical exam, various strategies are needed for appropriate diagnosis and treatment, as seen in our case. Juju is a 41-year-old female western lowland gorilla. Since 2017, Juju has had intermittent episodes of pelvic limb lameness that initially responded to short courses of NSAIDS, but have become persistent since July 2021. She demonstrated an antalgic gait by using her arm to move the pelvic limb and circumducting the limb while guarding the knee.

Setting: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Assessment/Results: After moderate relief from NSAIDs and oral steroids, treatments with steroid injections and immobilization were pursued in August 2021. Radiographs and physical exam demonstrated evidence of chronic, age-related degeneration of her joints. Juju received x-ray-guided and contrast-confirmed steroid injections in her left knee and hip by a PM&R pain specialist. Her ambulation significantly improved one day post-injection.

Discussion (relevance): Osteoarthritis is common among the aging human population. Although rarely reported in gorillas, osteoarthritis was the presumed cause of lameness and discomfort in Juju. Successful treatment of osteoarthritis in animals is challenging. However, this case demonstrates the importance of a thorough observational exam such as gait evaluation, and application of human medical standards of care in treating nonhuman primates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a successful intra-articular corticosteroid injection for the treatment of osteoarthritis in a gorilla.

Conclusions: In presenting the diagnosis and treatment of osteoarthritis in a captive gorilla, we hope to highlight non-verbal cues (e.g. gait examination) and diagnostic techniques that were used in situations where direct communication and physical examination were limited.

Level of Evidence: Level V

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/simian-steroid-shot-a-case-report-of-intra-articular-corticosteroid-injections-in-a-gorilla-with-presumed-osteoarthritis/