tracheal collapse
DESCRIPTION
Tracheal Collapse. James Montgomery, DVM September 21, 2009. General Conger Acc #114830. 8 yo MC Yorkshire Terrier Chronic cough Collapsing trachea – acute episode night prior to presentation at NCSU. General Conger Acc # 115060. Fluoroscopy. Link to movie. Tracheal Collapse. Two types - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
James Montgomery, DVMSeptember 21, 2009
8 yo MC Yorkshire Terrier Chronic cough Collapsing trachea
– acute episode night prior to presentation at NCSU
Fluoroscopy
Link to movie
Two types• Dorsoventral – often associated with a
pendulous redundant dorsal tracheal membrane
• Lateral – very unusual (rarely occurs spontaneously)
Obstruction of the trachea• Intrinsic weakness of the tracheal cartilage
rings• Laxity of the dorsal tracheal membrane
With rare exception, toy and miniature breed dogs• Yorkshire terrier: 1/3 – 2/3 of all reported
cases• Chihuahuas• Pomeranians• Toy poodles• Shih Tzus• Lhasa apsos
Usually middle-aged and older dogs No sex predisposition
Coughing is a sign consistently present • Chronic “honking” cough
Cough elicited with tracheal pressure at thoracic inlet (by palpation or pulling on leash), excitement, drinking water or eating food
Acute episodes: Respiratory distress +/- cyanosis
Physical exam usually normal otherwise
Frequently affects the entire trachea, though cervical or thoracic tracheal may be involved alone
Inspiration:• Negative intrapleural pressures expand the
intrathoracic airway lumen, while luminal pressure at the cervical level becomes negative cervical trachea collapses on inspiration
Expiration:• Intrapleural pressure increases, becoming
positive – once intrapleural pressure exceeds the airway opening pressure, the thoracic trachea collapses
Vicious cycle: 1.Collapsed trachea initiates coughing2.Coughing and enforced respiration
increase intrathoracic pressure causing opposing epithelial linings to come into contact mucosal injury
3.Chronic epithelial injury causes inflammation and epithelial desquamation which disrupts mucociliary clearance
4. With chronicity, mucous gland hyperplasia can occur causing increased respiratory secretion
5. Secretions accumulate in the trachea, as mucociliary clearance has been disrupted further aggravates cough and tracheal collapse
A progressive disorder
Medical Management
Surgical• Chondrotomy• Plication of the dorsal tracheal membrane• Extraluminal prostheses• Endotracheal Stents
Treatment of choice initially
Important to identify and manage any triggering event break the pathologic vicious cycle• Allergies• Obesity
Deleterious effects on cardiopulmonary system, decreased lung expansion, and increased breathing effort
• Treatment of existing infectious or inflammatory lung disease
• Management of congestive heart failure
Antitussives• Hydrocodone and butorphanol• Reduce chronic irritation or damage to the
tracheal epithelium Antisecretory drugs
• Atropine• Decrease excessive accumulation of mucus in
the respiratory tract Bronchodilators
• Methylxanthine• Theoretically reduce spasm of the smaller
airways, reducing intrathoracic pressures and decreases tendency of larger airways to collapse
Primary goal is to restore normal tracheal diameter without disrupting the mucociliary flow.
Tracheal Ring Chondrotomy and Plication of the dorsal tracheal membrane• Lead to reduction in tracheal diameter –
techniques out of favor
Extraluminal prostheses• C-shaped polypropylene• Improvement of clinical signs in 75-85% of
patients• Mainly limited to cervical trachea• Difficult procedure• Invasive• Severe complications:
Laryngeal paralysis, tracheal necrosis (decreased tracheal blood flow), loosening or failure of the implant
Intraluminal stents• Promising technique – still
looking for optimal stent material
• Fluoroscopic guidance• Self-expanding biliary
Wallstents most common Uncovered, metallic stent –
epithelialization permanent• Relatively easy to deploy –
orotracheal route• Less invasive• Shorter recovery time• Expensive - $1500
Complications: stent migration, granulation tissue, tracheal perforation
Ettinger SJ, Dantrowitz B. Diseases of the Trachea. In Ettinger SJ, Feldman EC, eds. Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 6th ed (St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders, 2005) pp. 1217-32.
Moritz A, et al. Management of advanced tracheal collapse in dogs using intraluminal self-expanding biliary Wallstents. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 18 (2004) pp. 31-42.
Sun F, et al. Endotracheal stenting therapy in dogs with tracheal collapse. The Veterinary Journal 175 (2008) pp. 186-93.