Retrospective Study on the Prevalence of Gastro-esophageal Reflux in Brachycephalic and Non-Brachycephalic Dogs Anesthetized for CT Examination

Gastro-esophageal reflux is the return of gastric contents in the esophagus, phenomenon that can be identified in dogs under general anesthesia, but also in dogs without anesthesia, due to disorders of the distal esophageal sphincter. The aim of the present study was the comparative assessment of the incidence of gastro-esophageal reflux in brachycephalic and non-brachycephalic dogs. The medical records were evaluated for 98 dogs, presented with different pathologies of the spine. The animals were subjected to a standardized anesthetic protocol and CT scan. Following the analysis of the acquired CT images, it was found that gastro-esophageal reflux was present in 31 brachycephalic dogs (31/46; 67.39%) and in 9 non-brachycephalic dogs (9/52; 17.31%), respectively. There was an increased predisposition of the brachycephalic breeds regarding the occurrence of gastro-esophageal reflux, using identical anesthesia and positioning protocols.