Nosological Pattern of Diseases Accompanied by Chronic Cough in Dogs

Introduction. A practicing veterinarian usually faces difficulties in both diagnosing and treating coughing in dogs. The unsolved problem in diagnosing entails doubts in the efficacy of the prescribed therapy. This is especially relevant for small dog breeds of middle and old age that often suffer from the chronic respiratory diseases and mitral insufficiency due to endocardiosis, and each of these diseases can lead to chronic cough. The aim of the research is to reveal the nosological pattern of the diseases accompanied by chronic cough in dogs.

Materials and Methods. The research was based on the analysis of the medical records of 145 dogs with chronic cough that have attended to the network of veterinary clinics “Vita” (Rostov region) in the period from September 1, 2021 to July 31, 2024. The research was carried out using the following equipment: Karl Storz video bronchoscope (PAL colour system, working channel 2.3 mm, gaze direction 0°, aperture angle 120°, up/down deviation 180°/100°, depth of field 3–50 mm, working length 61 cm, outer diameter 6.2 mm); premium ultrasound scanner with improved image quality on the ZST+Mindray Vetus 9 platform; Maxivet 400 veterinary X-ray digital DR system; Poli-Spectrum–8/B computerassisted electrocardiograph; automatic hematology analyzer Idexx ProCyte Dx; automatic biochemistry analyzer Idexx Catalyst One; digital microscope Celestron.

Results. The conducted research allowed us to find out the main causes of coughing in dogs. The most common cause of chronic cough found in these animals was chronic bronchitis, including that occurring simultaneously with the collapse of the upper respiratory tract. The rarest revealed cause of chronic cough was endocardiosis.

Discussion and Conclusion. Coughing in dogs is not a characteristic sign of endocardiosis: even when the disease was clinically evident, coughing was observed only in the cases of lung congestion and interstitial pulmonary edema. As a rule, dogs with endocardiosis that have a pronounced loud cough intensifying after exertion, have a concomitant disease of the upper respiratory tract. Coughing in dogs with endocardiosis and upper respiratory tract lesion does not go away upon getting merely a specific endocardiosis treatment.

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