title: Whole-Body Barometric Plethysmography Characterizes Upper Airway Obstruction in 3 Brachycephalic Breeds of Dogs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A novel test using whole-body barometric plethysmography (WBBP) was developed recently to diagnose brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in unsedated French bulldogs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The hypotheses of this study were: (1) respiratory characteristics are different between healthy nonbrachycephalic dogs and brachycephalic dogs; and among pugs, French bulldogs, and bulldogs; and (2) obesity and stenotic nares are risk factors for BOAS. The main objective was to establish a diagnostic test for BOAS in these 3 breeds.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 266 brachycephalic dogs (100 pugs, 100 French bulldogs, and 66 bulldogs) and 28 nonbrachycephalic dogs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study. Exercise tolerance tests with respiratory functional grading, and WBBP were performed on all dogs. Data from WBBP were associated with functional grades to train quadratic discriminant analysis tools to assign dogs to BOAS+ and BOAS- groups. A BOAS index (0-100%) was calculated for each dog. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate classification ability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Minute volume was decreased significantly in asymptomatic pugs (P = .009), French bulldogs (P = .026), and bulldogs (P < .0001) when compared to nonbrachycephalic controls. Respiratory characteristics were different among breeds and affected dogs had a significant increase in trace variation. The BOAS index predicted BOAS status for each breed with 94-97% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88.9-100%) accuracy (area under the ROC curve). Both obesity (P = .04) and stenotic nares (P = .004) were significantly associated with BOAS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The WBBP can be used as a clinical tool to diagnose BOAS noninvasively and objectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: N-C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Vet Epi Ltd., Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kalmar
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Ladlow
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sargan
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D003398:Craniosynostoses / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000002:abnormalities; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary; D010993:Plethysmography, Whole Body / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome; Quadratic discriminant analysis; Respiratory function test; Whole-body barometric plethysmography