Podcast: Chronic Coughing in a Yorkie with Dr. Palma
Douglas Palma, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM), The Animal Medical Center, New York, New York
In this episode, host Alyssa Watson, DVM, is joined by Douglas Palma, DVM, DACVIM, to talk about his recent Clinician’s Brief article, “Chronic Coughing in a Yorkshire Terrier.” Dr. Palma emphasizes when to suspect chronic bronchitis, how to exclude it from other relevant differentials, and which aspects of treatment are most important. He also shares some very practical tips for steroid use and reading chest radiographs.
Key Takeaways
Remember that chronic conditions can present acutely.
Signalment and clinical history are “free information,” to be used along with chest radiographs as the basic necessities for diagnosing chronic bronchitis.
If there’s no cardiomegaly or pulmonary edema, then it’s not a cardiogenic cough.
Steroids are the mainstay of treatment—inhaled vs. systemic? Pick the route that works for your patient and clients.
Bronchoconstriction is not a common component of chronic bronchitis. However, theophylline has ancillary benefits that could make it useful in certain cases.
Cough suppressants are generally only warranted when there is concurrent airway collapse.
Weight loss!
About the Guest
Douglas Palma, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM), is a veterinary internist, head of the internal medicine department, and residency director at The Animal Medical Center in New York, New York, where he also completed a small animal internal medicine residency. Dr. Palma earned his DVM from The Ohio State University. He has spoken at various conferences, coauthored multiple publications, and trained hundreds of interns and residents in internal medicine. His special interest is in respiratory medicine.
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The Team:
Alyssa Watson, DVM - Host
Alexis Ussery - Producer & Digital Content Coordinator
Randall Stupka - Podcast Production & Sound Editing