Small Talk - Summer 2018

Examination of the airway lining fluid from cats, shows there are at least two subsets of inflammatory disease. Chronic Bronchitis is characterised by more of the inflammatory cell, neutrophils, while the inflammatory cell, eosinophils, are seen more commonly in Feline Bronchial Asthma . Feline asthma is one of the most common respiratory diseases of cats. It is characterised by clinical signs ranging from irregular wheezing and coughing to episodes of difficult and laboured breathing that can be life-threatening. X-rays from asthmatic cats may be normal or may show characteristic changes, especially if the disease has been going on for some time. Examination of the airway and the taking of a cell sample might be too risky in cats with severe asthma. Treatment of asthma will usually start with glucocorticoids (steroids) and possibly bronchodilators, which help to dilate or open the airways. Many cats can be maintained on inhalational versions of these medications. If any aggravating or direct causes to the attacks can be identified, then they should be removed from the cat’s environment if possible. The situation in dogs is slightly different. Canine allergic airway disease There are two main types of disease in dogs that most closely resemble asthma: Canine Eosinophilic Bronchopneumopathy is a condition where there is airway inflammation but without the airway being hyper-active or having a blockage. The disease is often seen in young Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes. These dogs are usually in good physical condition, but show clinical signs such as coughing, laboured breathing or nasal discharge. Chest x-rays may show signs typical of this kind of disease, but in order to obtain a complete diagnosis it may be necessary to obtain samples of Feline allergic airway disease (Asthma) Feline asthma is one of the most common respiratory diseases in cats... the cells from the airway lining. This procedure should show an unusually high proportion of the inflammatory cell eosinophils, in the samples. This condition is treated mainly with glucocorticoids (steroids) but antibiotics may be necessary if there is evidence of a secondary bacterial infection. Canine Chronic Bronchitis is seen mainly in older, small breed dogs. Whilst the causes of this condition may be due to hypersensitivity reactions, it is probably more commonly attributed to air pollutants, viral or bacterial infection or a weakened immune system. On an x-ray, these dogs may appear to be normal but some will show the more classic airway changes, as mentioned above. A different type of inflammatory cell (neutrophil), is the main cell recovered from a sample taken from the airway lining. There may also be evidence of a bacterial infection. Treatment is aimed at removal of, or treatment of, the cause. Glucocorticoids (steroids) are commonly used and may be needed long term. Antibiotics may be needed to clear any infection. ‘‘ ‘‘