Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
CT ear scan features in American Cocker Spaniels compared to other
By Kaimio, Mirja L M et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2020·Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Aural CT characteristics of American Cocker Spaniels have features of both mesaticephalic and brachycephalic breeds.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of American Cocker Spaniels with ear infections (otitis externa and otitis media) underwent CT scans to better understand their ear structure. The scans showed that while healthy Cocker Spaniels had similar ear canal sizes compared to other breeds, those with severe infections had smaller ear canal measurements. Interestingly, the CT results suggested that Cocker Spaniels might naturally have thicker ear canal walls than other similar-sized dogs. This information can help veterinarians interpret CT results more accurately for this breed, especially when diagnosing ear problems.
People also search for: American Cocker Spaniel ear infection treatment · dog ear canal size · otitis media in Cocker Spaniels
Abstract
Otitis externa and otitis media are common in American Cocker Spaniels, however breed-specific aural CT descriptions are currently lacking. This prospective and retrospective, observational, analytical study aimed to describe quantitative CT characteristics of the horizontal ear canal and the tympanic bulla in American Cocker Spaniels versus similar-sized mesaticephalic dogs. We prospectively performed clinical examinations and aural CT scanning for 38 American Cocker Spaniels. Computed tomographic transverse area of the osseous horizontal ear canal (TA1), transverse area of the widest air-filled part of the cartilaginous horizontal ear canal (TA2), tympanic bulla volume, and tympanic bulla wall thickness were measured. The TA1 and TA2 measurements were compared with those of 23 retrospectively recruited, similar-sized mesaticephalic dogs that had undergone CT-scanning of the head for non-ear-related reasons. The TA1 and TA2 did not differ for healthy American Cocker Spaniels and mesaticephalic dogs. Severely affected American Cocker Spaniels had significantly smaller TA2 (P < .001). The intraclass correlation coefficient for intraobserver and interobserver repeatability was 0.972 and 0.983 for TA1 and 0.994 and 0.998 for TA2, respectively. Variation between individuals was subjectively noted in healthy and affected American Cocker Spaniels, but mean tympanic bulla volume was slightly smaller in relation to body weight, and the tympanic bulla wall was thicker than in previous reports for mesaticephalic dogs. The tympanic bulla wall appeared thicker rostro-ventrally than caudo-ventrally in 44% of the dogs. Our results imply that a relatively thick tympanic bulla wall may be a normal CT variation and should be interpreted cautiously in this breed.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32808397/