Respiratory Distress

Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM, DACVECC, DACVIM, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University

ArticleNovember 20121 min readPeer Reviewed
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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.

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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.

Related ArticlesRespiratory Distress in a CatHeart Disease: Diagnosis & TreatmentAcute Respiratory Distress: The Blue PatientRespiratory Distress & Intermittent Coughing in an Italian Greyhound

CHF = congestive heart failure, FIP = feline infectious peritonitis, T-FAST = thoracic-focused assesment with sonogram for trauma