Publicação
Ocular brachycephalic syndrome
| Resumo: | Background: Brachycephalic breeds are well known to have anatomical skull changes that are responsible, directly or indirectly, for ocular alterations, known as ocular brachycephalic syndrome. The most common diseases include entropion, distichiasis, trichiasis, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, ectopic cilia and corneal ulceration. When not treated, they lead to permanent damage, causing a decrease of the dogs’ vision acuity and compromise their wellbeing. Purpose: This prospective study aims to describe a sample of brachycephalic dogs concerning their breed, age, gender, clinical signs, ocular alterations, medical and surgical treatment and their outcomes, to better characterize the disease complex ocular brachycephalic syndrome. Materials & Methods: The studied population consisted of 47 brachycephalic dogs. The clinical approach included an ophthalmological examination, including assessment of ocular reflexes and responses, Schirmer tear test, tonometry, biomicroscopy and fundoscopy. Originated data was organized in a database using Microsoft Office Excel 2007® and statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics with the software IBM SPSS Statistics 20®. Results: The population in study was composed of 49% females and 51% males, including 45% French Bulldogs, 34% Pugs, 7% English Bulldogs, 4% Boston Terriers, 4% Bullmastiffs, 2% Boxers, 2% Shar-Peis and 2% Shih-Tzus, with an age range between 4 months and 12 years old. The most frequent clinical signs were blepharospasm in 28% of the animals, conjunctivitis in 26%, ocular discharge in 19%, and epiphora in 15% of the cases. The most frequent ocular abnormalities were macroblepharon in 75%, entropion in 45%, corneal ulcers in 40%, corneal pigmentation in 28%, corneal opacity in 23% and distichiasis in 21% of the studied animals. There was a higher incidence of corneal pigmentation in Pugs (62%) and corneal opacity in French Bulldogs (82%). The surgical techniques more frequently used were medial canthoplasty in 28% and electroepilation in 11% of the cases, with a good recovery and without post-operative complications. Medical treatment was indicated in cases of superficial ulcers, management of keratoconjunctivitis sicca and during surgical recovery. Conclusions: This study allowed the perception of the incidence of ocular alterations related to the brachycephalic conformation. Some differences between breeds were noted, including a higher incidence of corneal pigmentation in Pugs and corneal opacity in French Bulldogs, which suggests that some brachycephalic breeds may be predisposed to certain ocular abnormalities. The percentage of secondary problems such as ulcers was high, which highlights the importance of a regular ophthalmological check-up, so that an early diagnosis of the primary disorders can be achieved, avoiding the development of secondary alterations and allowing for the institution of an adequate treatment. |
|---|---|
| Autores principais: | Costa, Joana Veiga |
| Assunto: | Ocular Brachycephalic Syndrome entropion corneal ulcers distichiasis Síndrome Ocular Braquicefálico entrópion úlceras da córnea distiquíase |
| Ano: | 2019 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | Background: Brachycephalic breeds are well known to have anatomical skull changes that are responsible, directly or indirectly, for ocular alterations, known as ocular brachycephalic syndrome. The most common diseases include entropion, distichiasis, trichiasis, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, ectopic cilia and corneal ulceration. When not treated, they lead to permanent damage, causing a decrease of the dogs’ vision acuity and compromise their wellbeing. Purpose: This prospective study aims to describe a sample of brachycephalic dogs concerning their breed, age, gender, clinical signs, ocular alterations, medical and surgical treatment and their outcomes, to better characterize the disease complex ocular brachycephalic syndrome. Materials & Methods: The studied population consisted of 47 brachycephalic dogs. The clinical approach included an ophthalmological examination, including assessment of ocular reflexes and responses, Schirmer tear test, tonometry, biomicroscopy and fundoscopy. Originated data was organized in a database using Microsoft Office Excel 2007® and statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics with the software IBM SPSS Statistics 20®. Results: The population in study was composed of 49% females and 51% males, including 45% French Bulldogs, 34% Pugs, 7% English Bulldogs, 4% Boston Terriers, 4% Bullmastiffs, 2% Boxers, 2% Shar-Peis and 2% Shih-Tzus, with an age range between 4 months and 12 years old. The most frequent clinical signs were blepharospasm in 28% of the animals, conjunctivitis in 26%, ocular discharge in 19%, and epiphora in 15% of the cases. The most frequent ocular abnormalities were macroblepharon in 75%, entropion in 45%, corneal ulcers in 40%, corneal pigmentation in 28%, corneal opacity in 23% and distichiasis in 21% of the studied animals. There was a higher incidence of corneal pigmentation in Pugs (62%) and corneal opacity in French Bulldogs (82%). The surgical techniques more frequently used were medial canthoplasty in 28% and electroepilation in 11% of the cases, with a good recovery and without post-operative complications. Medical treatment was indicated in cases of superficial ulcers, management of keratoconjunctivitis sicca and during surgical recovery. Conclusions: This study allowed the perception of the incidence of ocular alterations related to the brachycephalic conformation. Some differences between breeds were noted, including a higher incidence of corneal pigmentation in Pugs and corneal opacity in French Bulldogs, which suggests that some brachycephalic breeds may be predisposed to certain ocular abnormalities. The percentage of secondary problems such as ulcers was high, which highlights the importance of a regular ophthalmological check-up, so that an early diagnosis of the primary disorders can be achieved, avoiding the development of secondary alterations and allowing for the institution of an adequate treatment. |
|---|