Respiratory Distress
Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM, DACVECC, DACVIM, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
This article was previously published in an earlier issue of Clinician’s Brief. It has been updated and modified for present use.
Is it a sign of lung disease? Pneumothorax? Evaluate respiratory distress in your patient using this diagnostic and management tree.
Canine Respiratory Distress Tips
Loud murmur and weight loss often signal heart disease.
Eosinophilic disease may be idiopathic or parasitic.
Fever may be present with pneumonia.
Dorsal caudal infiltrates are commonly noncardiogenic.
Consider endemic fungal disease based on geographic location and travel.
Feline Respiratory Distress Tips
Hypothermic cats often have heart disease.
History of cough is likely signal of airway disease, but not all cats with airway disease cough.
Severe heart disease may exist with soft/absent murmur; loud murmur may be innocent flow murmur.
Isolated lung masses should not cause shortness of breath; if breathing labored, interstitial fibrosis possible.
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CHF = congestive heart failure, FIP = feline infectious peritonitis, T-FAST = thoracic-focused assesment with sonogram for trauma