Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Incidental lung bullae and blebs on dog chest CT and risk
By Healy, Donough et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2025·Lumbry Park Veterinary Specialists, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Significance of incidentally identified bullae and blebs on thoracic computed tomography and prevalence of subsequent pneumothorax in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 30 dogs underwent chest scans for various reasons, and during these scans, some were found to have small air-filled spaces in their lungs called pulmonary bullae and blebs. Out of the 2178 scans reviewed, only 1.4% showed these incidental findings. Importantly, none of the dogs developed any breathing problems or signs of a collapsed lung (pneumothorax) during a follow-up period that lasted over three years. This suggests that finding these air-filled spaces is not a cause for concern, and surgery to remove them is not necessary.
People also search for: dog lung air pockets · dog breathing problems · pneumothorax in dogs · pulmonary bullae in dogs · dog CT scan results
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of incidentally found pulmonary bullae and blebs (PBBs) in a population of dogs undergoing thoracic computed tomography (CT) for reasons other than presence of pneumothorax and to determine the prevalence of subsequent spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) development. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: A total of 30 dogs. METHOD: A total of 2221 CT studies of the sample population were retrospectively assessed for the presence of incidental PBBs between April 2013 and April 2019. Inclusion criteria were complete thoracic CT studies from dogs obtained from the hospital database. Exclusion criteria were concurrent presence of a pneumothorax or severe pulmonary disease preventing assessment for PBBs, an air-filled space related to a pathological process, for example, neoplasm, incomplete CT studies, or no available follow-up. Long term outcome was evaluated using a questionnaire to determine the occurrence of SP post CT examination. RESULTS: Incidental PBBs were identified in 30 out of 2178 (1.4%) CT studies that met the inclusion criteria. None of the dogs subsequently developed clinical evidence of SP (median follow-up time 1255 days, range: 147 to 2363 days). One dog died suddenly of unknown cause and as no post-mortem was performed SP could not be ruled out. CONCLUSION: There was a low prevalence of incidentally found PBBs in dogs. None of the dogs followed over a long period subsequently developed SP. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Based on this study, prophylactic removal of lung tissue containing incidentally found PPBs is not justified.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39584707/