Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Reflux aspiration in lungs of dogs with and without respiratory
By Määttä, O L Merita et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2018·Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Reflux aspiration in lungs of dogs with respiratory disease and in healthy West Highland White Terriers.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of West Highland White Terriers (WHWTs) with different respiratory issues, including chronic bronchitis and pulmonary fibrosis, were tested for bile acids in their lungs. The study found that a significant number of these dogs had higher levels of bile acids, indicating that microaspiration (inhaling small amounts of stomach contents) can occur in dogs with respiratory diseases and even in healthy WHWTs. This suggests that bile acids might play a role in respiratory problems in dogs. If your dog has breathing issues, it may be worth discussing these findings with your veterinarian.
People also search for: dog breathing problems · West Highland White Terrier respiratory disease · dog microaspiration treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Gastroesophageal reflux and microaspiration (MA) of gastric juice are associated with various human respiratory diseases but not in dogs. OBJECTIVE: To detect the presence of bile acids in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of dogs with various respiratory diseases. ANIMALS: Twenty-seven West Highland White Terriers (WHWTs) with canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (CIPF), 11 dogs with bacterial pneumonia (BP), 13 with chronic bronchitis (CB), 9 with eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy (EBP), 19 with laryngeal dysfunction (LD), 8 Irish Wolfhounds (IWHs) with previous BPs, 13 healthy WHWTs, all privately owned dogs, and 6 healthy research colony Beagles METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional observational study with convenience sampling of dogs. Bile acids were measured by mass spectrometry in BALF samples. Total bile acid (TBA) concentration was calculated as a sum of 17 different bile acids. RESULTS: Concentrations of TBA were above the limit of quantification in 78% of CIPF, 45% of BP, 62% of CB, 44% of EBP, 68% of LD, and 13% of IWH dogs. In healthy dogs, bile acids were detected less commonly in Beagles (0/6) than in healthy WHWTs (10/13). Concentrations of TBA were significantly higher in CIPF (median 0.013 μM, range not quantifiable [n.q.]-0.14 μM, P < .001), healthy WHWTs (0.0052 μM, n.q.-1.2 μM, P = .003), LD (0.010 μM, n.q.-2.3 μM, P = .015), and CB (0.0078 μM, n.q.-0.073 μM, P = .018) groups compared to Beagles (0 μM, n.q.). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: These results suggest that MA occurs in various respiratory diseases of dogs and also in healthy WHWTs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30311983/