Evaluation of tracheal size in the Nigerian indigenous dog by radiologic morphometry

Abstract

Reproducible and easily applied methods of radiologic evaluation are needed in the day-to-day clinical practice for diagnosis and treatment (management) of tracheal disorders in animals. In the Nigerian Indigenous Dog, records of such measurements are either non-existent or invisible. The objective of this prospective cross-sectional study was to document measurement indices used for the evaluation of canine trachea. Thirty healthy Nigerian indigenous dogs of both sexes were used for the investigation. Plain right and left lateral thoracic radiographs of each research animal were obtained. The tracheal silhouette in each radiograph was objectively evaluated and adequately described. In the right and left lateral views, the sagittal diameter of the tenth vertebra, the thoracic inlet diameter, and the tracheal diameter were the parameters measured and recorded. Indices generated were the tracheothoracic ratio and tracheovertebral ratio. Results were described as means ± standard errors of means while differences between mean values were subjected to student’s t-test statistic using SPSS version 22 for windows. Statistical significance was established at P≤0.05. In the lateral radiographs, mean values of vertebral indices, tracheothoracic ratios, and tracheovertebral ratios for right/left lateral radiographs were 0.21±0.01/0.21±0.01, and 0.92±0.12/0.92±0.11, respectively. Using the right lateral and dorsoventral orthogonal views, the fronto-sagittal and Haller index's mean values were 1.05±0.04 and 0.95±0.04, respectively. The indices generated in the present study are considered adequate and recommended for morphological evaluation of the canine tracheal silhouette. The tracheovertebral ratio was established for the first time in the present research. The results of this work are reproducible, objective and easy to apply in small animal clinical practice.