Introduction: Bronchoscopy is a useful procedure in patients with chronic respiratory disease because it allows direct visualization and guided tissue sampling.

Materials and methods: Data was obtained from 30 bronchoscopy done at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Chile between years 2000-2003.

Records were analyzed including patient characteristics, time of the disease, macroscopic changes, bronchoalveolar lavage cytological analysis, microbiological culture and antibiogram results.

Bronchoscopes were done using a 11276 Störz flexible ureteroscope. Bronchoalveolar lavage was made using sterile saline solution.

Results and discussion: When analyzed by sex, 63.3% of the patients were female with average age of 5.7 years. Productive cough was the most persistent sign, followed by dyspnea. The average time of disease was 1 year.

Macroscopic findings were congestion (38.5%), mucus overproduction (23.1%), dorsal ligament hypertrophy (15.4%) and nodules (1.3%).

By cytological analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage 70% were bacterial inflammatory processes, 13.3% eosinophilic inflammatory processes, 10% malignant neoplasms and 3.3% parasitic diseases.

The diagnosed parasite was Filaroides osleri in an adult female, which is infrequent because it is described in literature as necropsy finding (Burrows, 1972).

All neoplasms were malignant finding only carcinomas, just as described by literature by Johnson 2001.

Pseudomona aeruginosa was found in 58% of chronic bacterial bronchitis, followed by Bordetella bronchiseptica (29%). These findings were similar to those reported by Johnson et al., 2001.

Bordetella bronchiseptica was resistant in an 80% to cephradine and 70% to sulpha + trimethoprim, also it presented 100% sensitivity to azithromycin and 90% to doxycycline. Pseudomona was found to be highly resistant to most of the commonly used antibiotics, showing intermediate sensitivity of 50% to enrofloxacin and 80% to gentamicin.

Conclusions: Making bronchoscopy in patients with chronic respiratory illnesses is valuable because it allows direct observation of natural structures, foreign bodies, parasitic nodules and, at the same time, permits guided and aseptic sampling of the area. With this samples cultures and antibiograms can be made in order to start treatment with an adequate antibiotic.

References

1.  Burrows, et al., 1972, J.Small Anim Pract 3,613-618

2.  Johnson, 2001, Vet. Clin. North. Am. Small. Anim. Pract. 31[4]:691-705.

3.  Johnson et al., 2001. J.A.V.M.A. 219(9):1247-1250.