Whole‐Body Barometric Plethysmography Characterizes Upper Airway Obstruction in 3 Brachycephalic Breeds of Dogs

Abstract

BackgroundA novel test using whole‐body barometric plethysmography (WBBP) was developed recently to diagnose brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in unsedated French bulldogs.Hypothesis/ObjectivesThe hypotheses of this study were: (1) respiratory characteristics are different between healthy nonbrachycephalic dogs and brachycephalic dogs; and among pugs, French bulldogs, and bulldogs; and (2) obesity and stenotic nares are risk factors for BOAS. The main objective was to establish a diagnostic test for BOAS in these 3 breeds.AnimalsA total of 266 brachycephalic dogs (100 pugs, 100 French bulldogs, and 66 bulldogs) and 28 nonbrachycephalic dogs.MethodsProspective study. Exercise tolerance tests with respiratory functional grading, and WBBP were performed on all dogs. Data from WBBP were associated with functional grades to train quadratic discriminant analysis tools to assign dogs to BOAS+ and BOAS‐ groups. A BOAS index (0–100%) was calculated for each dog. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate classification ability.ResultsMinute volume was decreased significantly in asymptomatic pugs (P = .009), French bulldogs (P = .026), and bulldogs (P < .0001) when compared to nonbrachycephalic controls. Respiratory characteristics were different among breeds and affected dogs had a significant increase in trace variation. The BOAS index predicted BOAS status for each breed with 94–97% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88.9–100%) accuracy (area under the ROC curve). Both obesity (P = .04) and stenotic nares (P = .004) were significantly associated with BOAS.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceThe WBBP can be used as a clinical tool to diagnose BOAS noninvasively and objectively.

Development and validation of a brachycephalic risk (BRisk) score to predict the risk of complications in dogs presenting for surgical treatment of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome

“…English bulldogs have been previously reported to have a higher mortality rate compared to other breeds undergoing brachycephalic airway surgery . French bulldogs have been found to have functional airway obstruction indices similar to English bulldogs, with a higher incidence of stenotic nares . Although multiple planned procedures have not been previously identified as a risk factor in brachycephalic dogs, prolonged anesthetic time, which is highly correlated with multiple procedures, has been identified as a risk factor for postanesthetic complications in brachycephalics .…”

Anaesthesia of brachycephalic dogs

“…Previously, age, body condition and laryngeal collapse have been identified as negative prognostic factors for surgical success (Torrez & Hunt , Liu et al . , , ), although these associations are not consistently found. Postsurgical complication rates of 12 to 26·2% and a mortality rate of approximately 3% have been reported (Poncet et al .…”

“…In dogs, the use of whole‐body plethysmography and exercise tolerance testing can improve identification of patients with clinically significant BOAS when compared with physical examination alone (Liu et al . , Riggs et al . ).…”

“…Surgical intervention, including palatoplasty, laryngeal sacculectomy and rhinoplasty, may improve the flow of air through the upper airways in up to 90% of dogs with clinical signs of BOAS (Poncet et al 2006, Torrez & Hunt 2006, Riecks et al 2007, Fasanella et al 2010, Haimel & Dupré 2015. Previously, age, body condition and laryngeal collapse have been identified as negative prognostic factors for surgical success (Torrez & Hunt 2006, Liu et al 2016, 2017a, 2017b, although these associations are not consistently found. Postsurgical complication rates of 12 to 26·2% and a mortality rate of approximately 3% have been reported (Poncet et al 2006, Riecks et al 2007, Fasanella et al 2010.…”

Fluoroscopic Estimation of Thoracic Dimensional Changes in Healthy Dogs

“…This technique is used most often to measure airway function, specifically for detecting bronchial and laryngeal disease . Like TBFVLs, barometric whole‐body plethysmography is an alternative procedure that can assess flow and volume changes in awake animals, but it can provoke panting and primarily is used to document airway obstruction . More routinely available tests of pulmonary function include arterial blood analysis and the 6‐minute walk test (6 MWT).…”