Abstract
The aim of the present study is to evaluate pleural thickness and stiffness and the laryngeal stiffness in dogs clinically affected by brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome using B-mode ultrasound and acoustic radiation force impulse elastography. Fifty-two brachycephalic, pugs and French bulldog, clinically classified as brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) grades 0, I, II and III were included and 15 mesocephalic beagle dogs used as a control group. All animals underwent B-mode ultrasound and subsequent elastography of the pleura and arytenoid cartilage of the larynx. Brachycephalic dogs showed greater pleural thickness over mesocephalic group (p = 0.04). Also showed lower pleural shear wave velocity than the mesocephalic group (p = 0.04), The larynx shear wave velocity was similar between types of skull and BOAS grades (p = 0.80). Measurements of pleural line thickness and pleural stiffness showed moderate capacity for diagnosing brachycephalic syndrome (p = 0.01, cut-off value of > 0.82 mm and p = 0.04, cutoff value 3.29 m/s), with low sensitivity and good specificity. However, shear wave velocity measurements of the larynx were not statistically significant for the diagnosis of brachycephalic syndrome. The results suggest a secondary change to the inspiratory effort, at the tissue level of the pleura in dogs clinically affected by BOAS, which can be identified by B-mode ultrasound and elastography methods, but it was not possible to diagnose changes in the arytenoid cartilage.