Treatment protocol for indolent ulcers: can brachycephalic conformation influence the final prognosis?

• Grant number: 20/14522-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2021
• End date: February 28, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Paola Castro Moraes
• Grantee: Larissa Rodrigues Marchini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Corneal ulcers are listed as one of the most common ophthalmic conditions in routine veterinary practice, where indolent corneal ulcers are considered to be a frequent condition in pet animals, resulting in impairment of eyeball integrity and often loss of vision in affected animals, in which it is characterized by long evolution and recurrence. It is already notorious that brachycephalic dogs, due to their facial conformity, have a greater predisposition to ophthalmic diseases, however the final prognosis of these animals has not been explained so far. In addition, numerous therapies have been reported for the treatment of indolent corneal ulcer, however there is no elucidated protocol. Thus, the present study aims to point out the difference in prognosis in relation to indolent ulcers in dogs of brachycephalic and non-abrachycephalic breeds, as well as to outline an effective treatment protocol for indolent corneal ulcers in dogs. The clinical data acquired between 2014 and 2019 in the Ophthalmology sector of the Veterinary Hospital "Governador Laudo Natel" of Unesp in Jaboticabal will be analyzed regardless of race, age or sex, provided that the final diagnosis is the indolent type corneal ulcer. Together with the analysis of the treatment used in each patient, time of the lesion and success rate in relation to the treatment instituted. This research will be able to contribute to the understanding of the prognosis of brachycephalic dogs affected by indolent corneal ulcer, also to the plausible discovery of a treatment protocol.