Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Comparing tracheal size measurement methods in English Bulldogs
By Ingman, Jessica et al.·Published in Acta veterinaria Scandinavica·2014·University Animal Hospital·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Comparison between tracheal ratio methods used by three observers at three occasions in English Bulldogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 56 adult English Bulldogs was evaluated for breathing problems related to a condition called tracheal hypoplasia, which is common in brachycephalic breeds. Two different methods were used to measure the size of their tracheas through X-rays, but the results varied widely between different observers and occasions. This inconsistency raises concerns about how reliable these methods are for diagnosing whether a dog has a hypoplastic trachea. Because of the poor agreement in results, veterinarians may need to be cautious when using these methods for health screenings in Bulldogs.
People also search for: English Bulldog breathing problems · tracheal hypoplasia diagnosis · Bulldog airway issues
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tracheal hypoplasia is a congenital condition described in mainly brachycephalic breeds and is one component of the brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). Two radiographic methods have been described to evaluate the dimensions of the tracheal diameter in dogs and to distinguish between hypoplastic and non-hypoplastic tracheas: the tracheal lumen diameter to thoracic inlet distance ratio (TD/TI) and the ratio between the thoracic tracheal luminal diameter and the width of the proximal third of the third rib (TT/3R). The purpose of this study was to compare these two published radiographic methods between observers, different measuring occasions and to investigate the effect on classification of dogs as having hypoplastic or non-hypoplastic tracheas using four previously published mean ratios as cut-offs (<0.11, <0.127 and <0.144 for the TD/TI and <2.0 for the TT/3R method). Three observers evaluated right and left lateral recumbent radiographs from 56 adult English Bulldogs independently on three different occasions. TD/TI and TT/3R ratios were calculated and correlated between measuring occasions. Kappa, observed, positive, and negative agreements were calculated between observers and measuring occasions. Number of hypoplastic and non-hypoplastic dogs for each method and occasion was determined using <0.11, <0.127 and <0.144 as cut-offs for TD/TI and <2.0 for TT/3R. RESULTS: Intraobserver agreement varied with kappa between 0.45-0.94 for the TD/TI and 0.20-0.86 for the TT/3R method. Interobserver kappa varied between 0.27-0.70 for the TD/TI method and between 0.05-0.57 for the TT/3R method. There was poor agreement in classifying English Bulldogs as tracheal hypoplastic or non-hypoplastic, depending on measuring method, cut-off value and observer. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic value of both the TD/TI and TT/3R methods with such poor agreement is questionable, and significantly impacts their reliability for both clinical evaluation of dogs and use in health screening programs.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25512143/