Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Corneal ulcers in dogs in England - common breeds and treatment
By D. O'Neill et al.·Published in Canine Genetics and Epidemiology·2017·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Corneal ulcerative disease in dogs under primary veterinary care in England: epidemiology and clinical management
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that corneal ulcerative disease (CUD), which can cause pain and vision problems, affected 834 dogs out of over 104,000 examined in England. Breeds like Pugs, Boxers, and Shih Tzus were more likely to develop this condition, especially brachycephalic (short-nosed) and spaniel breeds. Many dogs experienced pain, and some required pain relief or advanced treatment, while a few cases led to euthanasia. This highlights the importance of monitoring eye health in certain breeds and considering breeding practices to reduce the risk of CUD.
People also search for: dog eye problems Pug · Boxer corneal ulcer treatment · Shih Tzu vision issues
Abstract
BackgroundCorneal ulcerative disease (CUD) has the potential to adversely affect animal welfare by interfering with vision and causing pain. The study aimed to investigate for the first time the prevalence, breed-based risk factors and clinical management of CUD in the general population of dogs under primary veterinary care in England.ResultsOf 104,233 dogs attending 110 clinics participating within the VetCompass Programme from January 1st to December 31st 2013, there were 834 confirmed CUD cases (prevalence: 0.80%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.75–0.86). Breeds with the highest prevalence included Pug (5.42% of the breed affected), Boxer (4.98%), Shih Tzu (3.45%), Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (2.49%) and Bulldog (2.41%). Purebred dogs had 2.23 times the odds (95% CI 1.84–2.87, P < 0.001) of CUD compared with crossbreds. Brachycephalic types had 11.18 (95% CI 8.72–14.32, P < 0.001) and spaniel types had 3.13 (95% CI 2.38–4.12, P < 0.001) times the odds for CUD compared with crossbreds. Pain was recorded in 385 (46.2%) cases and analgesia was used in 455 (54.6%) of dogs. Overall, 62 (7.4%) cases were referred for advanced management and CUD contributed to the euthanasia decision for 10 dogs.ConclusionsBreeds such as the Pug and Boxer, and conformational types such as brachycephalic and spaniels, demonstrated predisposition to CUD in the general canine population. These results suggest that breeding focus on periocular conformation in predisposed breeds should be considered in order to reduce corneal disease.
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 Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/28630713