Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Middle ear fluid common in French bulldogs without ear symptoms
By Urkiola, Ane et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2024·ria Hospital Veterinari, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of middle ear effusion in French bulldogs without clinical signs of otic disease: A retrospective study of magnetic resonance imaging (2017-2022).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 126 French Bulldogs underwent MRI scans for unrelated health issues, and it was found that 58% of them had fluid in their middle ear, even though they showed no signs of ear problems. This condition, known as middle ear effusion, was often present in both ears. The study highlights that French Bulldogs are more likely to have this fluid buildup, which could be important for vets to consider when diagnosing ear infections in these dogs.
People also search for: French Bulldog ear problems · middle ear effusion in dogs · MRI findings in dogs with ear issues
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Canine middle ear effusion (MEE) is usually asymptomatic, being an incidental finding when computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head is performed for other reasons unrelated to otic disease. The clinical relevance of the presence of material in the tympanic bulla (TB) remains uncertain, and more detail about its prevalence and appearance in MRI are required. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of presence of material within the TB of French bulldogs (FB) with no clinical signs suggestive of otitis (externa, media or interna) that underwent high-field MRI for other medical reasons. ANIMALS: Two hundred fifty-two TB of 126 FB were included in this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nonexperimental retrospective study in which MRI images were evaluated by a board-certified veterinary radiologist. RESULTS: Fifty-eight per cent of the dogs had material in the TB lumen (46% of the TB) and 59% were bilaterally affected. The signal intensity of this material related to the grey matter was variable on T1w and mainly hyperintense on T2w sequences. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: FB are predisposed to MEE. This is important when assessing imaging studies of TB of FB with chronic otitis externa, as high percentage of cases may have concurrent MEE. MRI findings in FB with MEE are characterised by a hyperintense signal to the grey matter on T2w in most cases and variable on T1w sequences.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38284304/