Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
English bulldog puppies with small windpipes improve after pneumonia
By Clarke, Dana L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2011·Department of Clinical Studies-Philadelphia, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Partial resolution of hypoplastic trachea in six english bulldog puppies with bronchopneumonia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Six English bulldog puppies with bronchopneumonia (a lung infection) were evaluated for breathing problems related to their underdeveloped tracheas (windpipes). Initially, their tracheas were significantly smaller compared to non-bulldog puppies. However, follow-up X-rays showed that as the bulldogs grew, their tracheas improved in size, which helped their breathing. This suggests that some breathing issues in bulldogs may improve as they mature.
People also search for: English bulldog bronchopneumonia treatment · puppy breathing problems · tracheal hypoplasia in dogs · bulldog lung infection recovery
Abstract
Six English bulldog and nine nonbrachycephalic puppies with bronchopneumonia and radiographs were evaluated. Relative size of the trachea was measured by the tracheal diameter (TD) and the thoracic inlet distance (TI), expressed as a ratio (TD:TI). At diagnosis of bronchopneumonia, there was a significant difference between the median TD:TI of the bulldog puppies (0.07; range, 0.06-0.09) and that of the nonbrachycephalic puppies (0.14; range, 0.11-0.25; P=0.0004). At the same time, there was also a significant difference between the mean TD:TI of bulldog puppies (0.07±0.01) and that of nonbrachycephalic puppies (0.15±0.05; P=0.002). Follow-up radiographs showed significant increases in TD:TI ratio in all six bulldogs (median TD:TI = 0.14; range, 0.12-0.18; P=0.03 and mean TD:TI = 0.15±0.02; P=0.0007), whereas the ratio did not change significantly in the nonbrachycephalic control group (median TD:TI = 0.17; range, 0.14-0.22; P=0.10 and mean TD:TI = 0.18±0.03; P=0.06). Tracheal hypoplasia in some brachycephalic dogs might partially or completely resolve with growth to mature body size.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21852513/