Coughing in Small Animals: Diagnostic Approach COPY Flashcards
what is the cough reflex
forced expiratory effort against a closed glottis
what is the cough reflex mediated by
irritant receptors in airways and lungs
what occurs to the expectorate coughed up
swallowed or terminal retch with white forth (productive)
what are respiratory causes of a cough (6)
- bacterial & viral
- inflammatory/allergic/chronic airway disease
- neoplastic
- parasitic
- protozoal/fungal
- traumatic/structural abnormality
what are cardiovascular causes of persistent cough
- cardiomegaly
- pulmonary edema (esp if acute)
do cats cough with pulmonary edema
controversy
cats are said to not cough with pulmonary edema
how are coughs investigated (9)
- history
- clinical features (signalment)
- physical exam
- blood/fecal tests
- thoracic radiographs
- thoracic and cardiac ultrasonography
- bronchoscopy, bronchoalveolar lavage
- FNA of lungs
- CT
what are the history considerations of a persistent cough (11)
- acute vs. chronic (=daily for at least 2 months)
- concurrent signs (sneezing, dyspnea)
- character: soft/harsh/honking
- productive/non-productive
- duration/frequency/timing
- relationship to activities
- vaccination/travel/worming
- respiratory noises: stridor/stertor
- respiratory pattern: dyspnea
- exercise intolerance/lethary
- appetite
what are toy breeds predisposed to
tracheal collapse
what are terriers predisposed to
lung fibrosis
what are cats predisposed to
asthma
what are large breed dogs predisposed to
laryngeal paralysis
what are older dogs prone to
neoplasia
what are small dog breeds predisposed to
DMVD
what are the specific physical exam (8)
- palpate cervical area
- tracheal pinch reflex: if cough is elicited
- pulse quality
- resp pattern
- resp noises
- facial edema (cranial mediastinal masses(
- abdominal palpation
- lymph nodes
what sounds when auscultating indicate cardiac causes to a cough (5)
- sinus tachycardia
- arrhythmias
- murmurs
- gallop sounds
- pulmonary crackles
what sounds would indicate respiratory causes when auscultating (5)
- sinus arrhythmia
- bradycardia
- crackles
- wheezes
- stridor/stertor
what lab tests can be used to investigate a cough (7)
- hematology
- biochemistry
- cats: FELV/FIP/FIV
- Baermann’s fecal larval migration
- serology/microfilaria for heart worm
- biomarkers: NTproBNP
- AngioDetect: angiostrongylus vasorum
what findings on radiograph can indicate a cough (5)
- soft tissues of neck: upper resp tract lesions (foreign bodies, trauma, cervical tracheal collapse)
- mediastinum: masses, compression/deviation of normal structures
- cardiomegaly, pulmonary edema & vascular congestion
- alveolar, lobar, interstitial, bronchial lung patterns
- tumours, cysts
what is cor pulmonale
right cardiomegaly –> indicative of pulmonary hypertension (chronic pulmonary disease for ex. IPF)
what can be heard on auscultation with cor pulmonale
velcro crackles
what radiographic changes are seen with cor pulmonale
interstitial or broncho-interstitial lung pattern
rounding of right side of heart
what changes are seen here and what is ddx
rounding of right side of heart
cor pulmonale
what changes are seen here and what is ddx
some rounding of right heart
cor pulmonale
when is thoracic ultrasonography useful for coughing
masses
pleural effusion
when is echocardiography useful
when trying to rule out cardiac causes for cough
can confirm mitral valve disease, cardiac chamber enlargement, etc
when is endoscopy useful
direct observation of airway
look at larynx, trachea, etc
foeign bodies, laryngeal collapse, tracheal collapse
what is bronchoscopy used for
evidence of pneumonia
parasites (lungworm)
chronic bronchitis (roughening and thickening of mucosa)
foreign body
what is bronchoalveolar lavage
using endoscope and flusing saline
definitive diagnosis of lower airway disease (pneumonia, eosinophilic bronchitis, Bordetella)
what is FNA lung mass
if there is a mass in the lungs that’s adjacent to the chest wall
what is CT useful for
interstitial lung disease (ex. pulmonary fibrosis which doesn’t show up on radiographs)
what are the main causes of coughing in kitties (4)
- infectious
- inflammatory/allergic
- neoplastic
- parasitic/fungal/protozoal
what are the infectious & inflammatory causes of cough in cats (4)
- cat flu: URT infection
- pneumonia
- chronic bronchopulmonary disease
- pulmonary fibrosis
what are the infectious causes of feline upper resp tract infections (6)
- feline rhinotracheitis virus (FHV)
- feline calici virus (FCV)
- feline corona virus
- Bordetella bronchiseptica
- mycoplasma spp
- chlamydophila felis