Comparison of short-, intermediate-, and long-term results between dogs with tracheal collapse that underwent multimodal medical management alone and those that underwent tracheal endoluminal stent placement

Abstract OBJECTIVE To compare short-, intermediate-, and long-term results between dogs with tracheal collapse (TC) that received multimodal medical management only and those that underwent tracheal endoluminal stent placement. ANIMALS 159 dogs with TC that underwent medical management only (MM group; n = 84) or were surgically managed by stent placement (SM group; 75). PROCEDURES Medical records of dogs with TC that underwent medical management only or stent placement at a referral hospital between September 1, 2009, and August 1, 2018, were reviewed. Data regarding signalment, information relevant to TC, and outcome were extracted from the records and aggregated into short-, intermediate-, and long-term follow-up periods for analysis. Descriptive data and median survival times (MSTs) were compared between the MM and SM groups. RESULTS Clinical signs of dogs in the MM group generally improved during the short term but regressed and worsened over time. The proportion of dogs with malformation-type TC that underwent stent placement (38/43 [88%]) was significantly greater than the proportion of dogs with traditional-type TC that underwent stent placement (37/107 [35%]). The MST from TC diagnosis was 3.7 years for the MM group and 5.2 years for the SM group. For dogs with severe disease, the MST was 12 days for medically managed dogs and 1,338 days for dogs that underwent stent placement. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Multimodal medical management alleviated clinical signs for months to years in dogs with mild to moderate TC disease, but stent placement should be considered for dogs with severe disease.