Kim Mi-Rae, Kim Se-Hoon, Ryu Min-Ok, Youn Hwa-Young, Choi Ji-Hye, Seo Kyoung-Won
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Clinical Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Veterinary Medical Imaging, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Front Vet Sci. 2024 Aug 14;11:1448249. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1448249. eCollection 2024.
The grade of tracheal collapse (TC) is assessed by the diameter of the narrowed lumen. However, studies on the relationship between TC grade and clinical symptom severity are lacking.
To investigate the clinical characteristics of small-breed dogs diagnosed with TC and determine if fluoroscopic grading correlates with cough severity.
We retrospectively reviewed medical records from 2022 to 2024. TC diagnosis was confirmed using fluoroscopic examination. Multiple linear regression was employed to investigate factors influencing cough severity, with a significance level set at < 0.05.
A total of 132 dogs with TC were identified, of which 22 were excluded. The final cohort consisted of 110 dogs, aged between 2-19 years, with no significant sex differences. The majority (97.2%) of dogs had a BCS of ≥4. Among the top four breeds (Maltese, Pomeranian, Poodle, and Chihuahua), the most severe collapse was observed in the carinal region. The grade of collapse on fluoroscopy was mostly related to high BCS ( < 0.007) and low body weight ( < 0.001). However, interestingly, fluoroscopic findings of collapse location and grade did not correlate with cough severity ( = 0.350). Notably, clinical symptoms improved in 86.6% of cases following interventions such as weight reduction, environmental changes, and pharmacotherapy.
In small-breed dogs, the severity of cough was not associated with the region or grade of TC diagnosed by fluoroscopy.
气管塌陷（TC）的分级是通过狭窄管腔的直径来评估的。然而，关于TC分级与临床症状严重程度之间关系的研究尚缺乏。
调查诊断为TC的小型犬的临床特征，并确定荧光透视分级是否与咳嗽严重程度相关。
我们回顾性分析了2022年至2024年的病历。通过荧光透视检查确诊TC。采用多元线性回归研究影响咳嗽严重程度的因素，显著性水平设定为<0.05。
共识别出132只患有TC的犬，其中22只被排除。最终队列包括110只犬，年龄在2至19岁之间，无显著性别差异。大多数（97.2%）犬的体况评分（BCS）≥4。在前四大品种（马尔济斯犬、博美犬、贵宾犬和吉娃娃犬）中，隆突区域观察到最严重的塌陷。荧光透视下的塌陷分级主要与高BCS（<0.007）和低体重（<0.001）有关。然而，有趣的是，塌陷位置和分级的荧光透视结果与咳嗽严重程度无关（=0.350）。值得注意的是，在采取减重、环境改变和药物治疗等干预措施后，86.6%的病例临床症状有所改善。
在小型犬中，咳嗽的严重程度与荧光透视诊断的TC区域或分级无关。
