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. 2019 Sep;33(5):2217-2226.
doi: 10.1111/jvim.15605. Epub 2019 Aug 29.

Eosinophilic bronchitis, eosinophilic granuloma, and eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy in 75 dogs (2006-2016)

Lynelle R Johnson  1 , Eric G Johnson  2 , Sean E Hulsebosch  1 , Jonathan D Dear  1 , William Vernau  3
Affiliations

Eosinophilic bronchitis, eosinophilic granuloma, and eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy in 75 dogs (2006-2016)

Lynelle R Johnson et al. J Vet Intern Med. 2019 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Eosinophilic lung disease is a poorly understood inflammatory airway disease that results in substantial morbidity.

Objective: To describe clinical findings in dogs with eosinophilic lung disease defined on the basis of radiographic, bronchoscopic, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) analysis. Categories included eosinophilic bronchitis (EB), eosinophilic granuloma (EG), and eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy (EBP).

Animals: Seventy-five client owned dogs.

Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for dogs with idiopathic BAL fluid eosinophilia. Information abstracted included duration and nature of clinical signs, bronchoscopic findings, and laboratory data. Thoracic radiographs were evaluated for the pattern of infiltrate, bronchiectasis, and lymphadenomegaly.

Results: Thoracic radiographs were normal or demonstrated a bronchial pattern in 31 dogs assigned a diagnosis of EB. Nine dogs had intraluminal mass lesions and were bronchoscopically diagnosed with EG. The remaining 35 dogs were categorized as having EBP based on radiographic changes, yellow green mucus in the airways, mucosal changes, and airway collapse. Age and duration of cough did not differ among groups. Dogs with EB were less likely to have bronchiectasis or peripheral eosinophilia, had lower total nucleated cell count in BAL fluid, and lower percentage of eosinophils in BAL fluid compared to dogs in the other 2 groups. In contrast to previous reports, prolonged survival (>55 months) was documented in dogs with EG.

Conclusions and clinical importance: Dogs with eosinophilic lung disease can be categorized based on imaging, bronchoscopic and BAL fluid cytologic findings. Further studies are needed to establish response to treatment in these groups.

Keywords: bronchitis; bronchomalacia; bronchopneumopathy; granuloma; infection.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bronchoscopic image from a dog with eosinophilic bronchitis reveals airway hyperemia. Airway openings are normal in shape and size, the epithelial lining is smooth, minimal mucus is present, and no airway collapse is noted
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bronchoscopic (A) and CT image (B) from a dog with eosinophilic granuloma. In (A), a large yellow mass lesion is partially obstructing a bronchus. The CT in (B) demonstrates generalized and severe saccular dilation of bronchi with thickening of airway walls and a large amount of soft tissue attenuating material obstructing the bronchial lumen at multiple locations. Left lateral (C) and dorsoventral radiographs (D) show a severe bronchial pattern with bronchiectasis and, in particular, gross enlargement of the right cranial and right caudal lobar bronchi that are filled with soft tissue opacity and are tubular in shape
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bronchoscopic images from two different dogs with eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy reveal yellow green mucus obscuring an airway (A) and airway collapse with nodular epithelial changes (B)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Total WBC did not differ among groups (A) although the percentage of dogs with EBP that had peripheral leukocytosis was significantly higher than in the other 2 groups. Peripheral blood eosinophils (B) were significantly lower in dogs with EB in comparison to dogs with EG and EBP. Dashed lines represent reference intervals
Figure 5
Figure 5
Total nucleated cell counts in BAL fluid were significantly lower in dogs with EB compared to those with EG and EBP (A; dashed line represents the normal value), and percentage BAL fluid eosinophilia was also lower in that group (B). Only dogs with BAL fluid eosinophil percentage exceeding 14% were evaluated here
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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