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

Overview

Journal J Vet Intern Med

Specialties General Medicine
Veterinary Medicine

Date 2016 May 10

PMID 27159898

Citations 34

Authors

N-C Liu

V J Adams

L Kalmar

J F Ladlow

D R Sargan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: A novel test using whole-body barometric plethysmography (WBBP) was developed recently to diagnose brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in unsedated French bulldogs.

Hypothesis/objectives: The 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.

Animals: A total of 266 brachycephalic dogs (100 pugs, 100 French bulldogs, and 66 bulldogs) and 28 nonbrachycephalic dogs.

Methods: Prospective 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.

Results: Minute 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 Importance: The WBBP can be used as a clinical tool to diagnose BOAS noninvasively and objectively.

Citing Articles

Short-term effects of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome surgery on fitness and exercise in brachycephalic dogs.

Goossens J, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Zablotski Y, Schroers M Front Vet Sci. 2025; 12:1481717.

PMID: 40041668 PMC: 11876419. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1481717.

Anatomical, functional, and blood-born predictors of severity of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome severity in French Bulldogs.

Schmid C, Steiner A, Spielhofer L, Galfetti M, Rentsch N, Bogdanov N Front Vet Sci. 2025; 11():1486440.

PMID: 39850586 PMC: 11754203. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1486440.

BOAS in the Boston Terrier: A healthier screw-tailed breed?.

Tomlinson F, ONeill E, Liu N, Sargan D, Ladlow J PLoS One. 2024; 19(12):e0315411.

PMID: 39739830 PMC: 11687697. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315411.

Abnormal shape of the pterygoid bone in French bulldogs: Prevalence and implication for cross-sectional area.

Del Mar Bovis M, Agthe P, Anderson D Can Vet J. 2024; 65(11):1165-1171.

PMID: 39494181 PMC: 11488228.

Neural network analysis of pharyngeal sounds can detect obstructive upper respiratory disease in brachycephalic dogs.

McDonald A, Agarwal A, Williams B, Liu N, Ladlow J PLoS One. 2024; 19(8):e0305633.

PMID: 39172898 PMC: 11340978. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305633.

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