Objective measurement of respiratory loudness in dogs with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome before and after corrective surgery.

Objective: To quantify the intensity of sound associated with breathing in brachycephalic dogs and determine detectability on a mobile phone application (app). In addition, analyse differences in sound volume before and after sedation, and 2 weeks post-surgical treatment of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS).

Study design: Clinical prospective pilot study.

Animals: 28 brachycephalic dogs.

Methods: A mobile phone app was used to measure and record the sound of breathing in decibels (dB) in a quiet room before and after sedation, as well as 10-14 days following corrective surgery. Statistical analysis was performed to determine if there was an improvement in breathing volume between each time point.

Results: Prior to sedation, the mean sound intensity was 30.8 dB. After sedation of 5 minutes, it decreased significantly to 25.8 dB (p = 0.0013). At the post-operative consultation (10-14 days later), the mean intensity had further declined to 22.9 dB, significantly lower than both pre-sedation and post-sedation values (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The intensity of a brachycephalic patient's breathing is detectable by a mobile phone app and significantly reduces following surgical treatment involving palatoplasty, sacculectomy and alarplasty.

Clinical significance: With further research, the loudness of breathing may prove to be a useful, readily available, objective measurement tool to add to the current BOAS grading systems, allowing communication between veterinarians regarding the severity of BOAS. Future prospective studies may also involve the correlation of measurements with the risk of complications.