Tracheal collapse in dogs: the use of compressive radiography as diagnostic method

• Grant number: 20/07970-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2020
• End date: July 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Luciana Del Rio Pinoti
• Grantee: Natália Babolim Pereira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Tracheal collapse is a progressive and degenerative disease characterized by anatomical and histological changes in the trachea, being considered a common cause of upper airway obstruction in small animals. Its etiology is little known and there is a predisposition in small dogs of middle age to the elderly. The diagnosis is made based on the animal's history, but it is only definitive through the performance of complementary exams, in which radiography is the most used. The auxiliary method of tracheal compression is highly effective and corresponds to the most used in the diagnosis of this disease. Based on this, the present study aims to determine the occurrence of tracheal collapse in dogs by means of radiographic examination with external tracheal compression, assessing the degree of severity in symptomatic and asymptomatic animals, as well as to determine the most affected breeds and ages and their relationship with the size of the animals. For this, this will be a retrospective study, evaluating files and information of dogs that underwent the tracheal compression method at the Veterinary Hospital "Luiz Quintiliano de Oliveira" of UNESP in Araçatuba (SP). These data will be analyzed statistically in order to establish the incidence of the condition, in addition to aiming at the execution of early diagnoses, in order to give a better quality of life to the affected patients.