Bronchoscopic Findings in 48 Cats with Spontaneous Lower Respiratory Tract Disease (2002–2009)

Abstract

Background: Diagnosis of lower respiratory disease requires collection of airway samples to confirm the etiology of disease. Bronchoscopic evaluation is commonly performed in dogs but less information is available in cats.Hypothesis: The presence and number of bronchoscopic abnormalities visualized during bronchoscopic evaluation of cats with lower respiratory disease will correlate with the type of disease and total and differential cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid.Animals: Forty-eight cats prospectively evaluated by a single bronchoscopist. Methods: Bronchoscopy was performed during clinical evaluation of cats presenting with cough, respiratory distress, or both. Cats were evaluated for airway hyperemia, stenosis, or collapse, mucus accumulation, bronchiectasis, and epithelial irregularities. Cats were placed into groups of bronchitis/''asthma,'' pneumonia, or neoplasia based on BAL findings, histopathology, and response to appropriate medical therapy. Summation of bronchial abnormalities and total and differential cell counts were compared among groups.Results: Endobronchial abnormalities were common in cats with feline bronchitis/asthma, pneumonia, and neoplasia and no differentiating features were found. Excessive mucus accumulation was common (83%), followed by stenosis of bronchial openings and nodular epithelial irregularities (56%), airway hyperemia (54%), airway collapse (48%), and bronchiectasis (27%). Total bronchoscopic score and total cell count did not differ among groups, although differential cell counts were significantly different. A weak correlation (R 2 5 0.16, P 5 .006) between age and total bronchoscopic score was noted.Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Bronchoscopic abnormalities are common in cats with lower respiratory tract disease, and visualization of the airways provides additional nonspecific clinical information in cats.

Bronchoscopy, Imaging, and Concurrent Diseases in Dogs with Bronchiectasis: (2003–2014)

“…Multiple breeds were affected by bronchiectasis and this study confirms the susceptibility of Cocker spaniels (n = 5) noted previously . Interestingly, Malamutes (n = 3) were possibly overrepresented, but had bronchiectasis in association with inflammatory rather than with eosinophilic airway disease, which has been previously reported .…”

“…Our finding of bronchiectasis in inflammatory airway diseases of dogs should not be surprising given that the pathophysiology of bronchiectasis is thought to be related to enzymatic products of inflammatory cells and aberrant cytokine responses, although the relatively rare occurrence of bronchiectasis (2%) in the inflammatory condition of human asthma raises questions about the exact mechanisms of development . Response of the canine lung to chronic inflammation could be more similar to that found in the cat, where 17% of cases (4 of 23 cats) with bronchitis/asthma had bronchiectasis documented on bronchoscopy . It is possible that IAD in the dog more closely resembles the human condition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a composite of emphysema and chronic bronchitis, in which up to 50% of patients can demonstrate bronchiectasis …”

Interpretation of Multisegment Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Cats (1/2001–1/2011)

“…Thoracic CT provides much greater detail and would undoubtedly have provided superior definition of the presence or absence of pulmonary infiltrates. Bronchoscopic findings might have provided useful information for characterizing focal and diffuse disease; however, they were not included here because bronchoscopic findings are similar in pneumonia, inflammatory airway disease, and neoplastic diseases in cats . Bronchoscopic findings could favor collection of variable airway cytology if the endoscopist chose to perform a lavage in a visually abnormal area in comparison with a more normal‐appearing airway.…”

Correlation of bronchoalveolar eosinophilic percentage with airway responsiveness in cats with chronic bronchial disease

“…, Hirt et al . , Johnson & Vernau ). Efforts to accurately distinguish these conditions remain relevant as future therapeutic targets will likely come from a better understanding of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms (Reinero ).…”