Analysis of the incidence of aspiration pneumonia in small pets

Abstract

The material for the study was 4213 electronic medical histories of domestic animals, which had clinical signs of respiratory system pathologies, such as tachypnea, dyspnea, shortness of breath, medium and small bubbly wheezing, apathy, low tolerance to physical exertion. In the course of the study, it was found that symptoms of pneumonia of various etiologies were noted in 744 individuals or 17.61% of all animals with various pathologies of the respiratory system. Aspiration pneumonia was diagnosed in 183 animals, which is 24.59% of all patients with pneumonia or 4.34% of all animals diagnosed with respiratory apparatus pathology. Radiographs revealed that 91 animals (50%) have alveolar infiltrates in the lung tissue, 61 animals (33.3%) have an interstitial pattern. In 30 animals (16.6%), lung infiltration was represented by both alveolar and interstitial patterns. Of the 7 lung lobes: one lobe was affected in 95 animals (52%), two lung lobes were affected in 56 animals (31%), three lung lobes in 16 animals (9%), four lung lobes in 10 animals (5%), all 7 lobes were affected in three animals (1%). Taking into account the results obtained, the authors conclude that 50% of the studied animals had alveolar infiltrations in the lungs, 52% had only one lung lobe affected. The data obtained should be taken into account when diagnosing aspiration pneumonia in small pets.