Publications by authors named "Frederic Billen"

Objective: To determine and compare the concentration of gentamicin in the lower airways and serum of healthy spontaneously breathing dogs after nebulization with 5% undiluted gentamicin during 3 versus 10 minutes.

Animals: 10 healthy experimental Beagles.

Methods: This was a prospective crossover study.

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Antimicrobials' topical administration efficacy has not been assessed in dogs with upper respiratory tract disease. The aim was to compare the concentration of gentamicin in nasal lavage fluid (NALF) and in serum after three topical protocols. This was a prospective crossover study of ten healthy dogs.

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Background: Pathogenesis of canine fungal rhinitis is still not fully understood. Treatment remains challenging, after cure turbinate destruction may be associated with persistent clinical signs and recurrence of fungal rhinitis can occur. Alterations of the nasal microbiota have been demonstrated in dogs with chronic idiopathic rhinitis and nasal neoplasia, although whether they play a role in the pathogenesis or are a consequence of the disease is still unknown.

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This retrospective case series describes imaging findings in seven dogs and two cats with a presumptive diagnosis of sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP) between 2014 and 2021. Peritoneal effusion was present in all animal patients. Sonographically, echogenic fluid with or without echogenic intraperitoneal septations, gathered or corrugated bowel loops, and abdominal lymphadenomegaly were suggesting an inflammatory process and the presence of adhesions.

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Background: In dogs with sinonasal aspergillosis (SNA) the utility of PCR in the diagnosis and monitoring of the disease after treatment has not been assessed.

Objectives: To evaluate the presence of fungal DNA using quantitative PCR targeting Aspergillus fumigatus (Aspfum) and Aspergillus spp. (PanAsp), and PCR targeting multiple fungal species (PanFun), in samples obtained from nasal cavities of dogs with SNA, other nasal diseases and healthy dogs.

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Background: Evidence regarding optimal treatment duration in dogs with aspiration pneumonia (AP) and the role of thoracic radiographs (TXR) and lung ultrasonography (LUS) in the long-term follow-up of affected dogs is lacking. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a reliable acute phase protein to monitor bacterial pneumonia in dogs.

Hypothesis: Investigate the safety of antimicrobial discontinuation based on clinical improvement and serum CRP normalization, as well as the usefulness of TXR and LUS for follow-up.

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Background: Comparison of clinical findings, chest radiographs (CXR), lung ultrasound (LUS) findings, and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations at admission and serial follow-up in dogs with aspiration pneumonia (AP) is lacking.

Hypothesis: Lung ultrasound lesions in dogs with AP are similar to those described in humans with community-acquired pneumonia (comAP); the severity of CXR and LUS lesions are similar; normalization of CRP concentration precedes resolution of imaging abnormalities and more closely reflects the clinical improvement of dogs.

Animals: Seventeen dogs with AP.

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Background: Extrinsic and intrinsic factors have been shown to influence nasal microbiota (NM) in humans. Very few studies investigated the association between nasal microbiota and factors such as facial/body conformation, age, and environment in dogs. The objectives are to investigate variations in NM in healthy dogs with different facial and body conformations.

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Lactococcus (L.) garvieae is a zoonotic fish pathogen that can also cause bacteraemia and endocarditis in humans and has been isolated from healthy or diseased domestic animals. Nevertheless L.

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Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a well-known acute-phase protein in dogs that may discriminate bacterial bronchopneumonia from other pulmonary conditions. Bronchopneumonia caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica (Bb) is common but the associated increase in CRP concentration in naturally infected dogs has not been fully explored.

Objective: To compare CRP concentrations of dogs with Bb infection, with or without radiographic pulmonary lesions, to dogs with aspiration bronchopneumonia (ABP).

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Objectives: To determine whether there is a benefit of using pre- and postoperative antacid treatment in dogs undergoing surgery for brachycephalic syndrome. To assess the use of an obstruction manoeuvre during endoscopy for the detection of dynamic gastro-oesophageal junction abnormalities.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-six client-owned brachycephalic dogs were prospectively included in a randomised trial.

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Background: Bordetella bronchiseptica (Bb) infection commonly causes respiratory disease in dogs. Gentamicin delivered by aerosol maximizes local drug delivery without systemic absorption but clinical response to protocols remains undetermined.

Objectives: To compare the clinical response to 2 protocols of aerosolized delivery of gentamicin in bordetellosis.

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Infection with Bordetella bronchiseptica (Bb), a pathogen involved in canine infectious respiratory disease complex, can be confirmed using culture or qPCR. Studies about the canine lung microbiota (LM) are recent, sparse, and only one paper has been published in canine lung infection. In this study, we aimed to compare the LM between Bb infected and healthy dogs, and to correlate sequencing with culture and qPCR results.

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Objective: To determine the influence of manipulations aimed at increasing the transdiaphragmatic pressure gradient on the gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ) of dogs with brachycephalic airway obstructive syndrome (BAOS), and to identify the manipulation that most improves the detection of GEJ abnormalities and sliding hiatal hernia (SHH) in dogs with BAOS.

Study Design: In vivo experimental pilot study and prospective clinical study.

Animals: Five purpose-bred Beagles and 20 dogs diagnosed with BAOS.

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On the basis of phenotypic identification methods, Aspergillus fumigatus is reported as the most commonly identified aetiological agent of canine sino-nasal aspergillosis (SNA). However, definitive identification of Aspergillus spp. using phenotypic features alone is unreliable.

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The objective of this study was to determine if inhaled salmeterol, a long-acting β(2)-adrenergic agonist, and oral doxycycline, a tetracycline antibiotic displaying matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitory activity, reduce airway inflammation and obstruction in cats with experimentally-induced asthma. Eight Ascaris suum (AS)-sensitised cats were enrolled in a prospective study in which they underwent four AS-challenges at 1 month intervals. The challenged animals were given no treatment or were treated on 4 consecutive days with either: (1) oral prednisolone (1mg/kg twice daily), (2) inhaled salmeterol (50 μg twice daily), or (3) oral doxycycline (5mg/kg twice daily), according to a randomised cross-over design.

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Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is an inherited disorder characterized by recurrent infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract, reduced fertility in males and situs inversus in about 50% of affected individuals (Kartagener syndrome). It is caused by motility defects in the respiratory cilia that are responsible for airway clearance, the flagella that propel sperm cells and the nodal monocilia that determine left-right asymmetry. Recessive mutations that cause PCD have been identified in genes encoding components of the outer dynein arms, radial spokes and cytoplasmic pre-assembly factors of axonemal dyneins, but these mutations account for only about 50% of cases of PCD.

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This study evaluated the effect of 1% bifonazole cream in the treatment of canine sino-nasal aspergillosis (SNA). The cream was instilled through perendoscopically placed catheters into the frontal sinuses and was used either as single therapy after debridement (DC) or as adjunctive therapy after 2% enilconazole infusion (DEC). Twelve dogs were treated initially with DEC: 7 and 3 of these dogs were free of disease after 1 and 2 procedures, respectively, while 2 dogs were cured after DC was used as a second procedure.

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The aim of this study was to assess the preventive effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega3 PUFA) and luteolin supplementation on allergen-induced inflammation in eight Ascaris suum (AS)-sensitised cats. Airway responsiveness (AR) tests were performed and venous blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) collected before and following a single (AS-stimulated) allergen exposure, as well as at the end of a 4-week treatment period, which was followed by a second AS-challenge. The omega6/omega3 fatty acid ratio in erythrocyte membranes, BALF cytology, AR to carbachol, and BALF lipoxin A(4) (LXA(4)), an endogenous inhibitor of inflammation, were assessed at each time point.

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This case report describes transient atrioventricular block as the etiology for syncopal events in a 6-year-old male German shepherd dog with atrial fibrillation and dilated cardiomyopathy. The arrhythmia diagnosis was obtained via Holter monitoring. Medical treatment with a sustained-release preparation of theophylline, as an additive to the standard congestive heart failure treatment (benazepril, furosemide and pimobendan) may have contributed to temporary remission of the syncopal events.

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The urinary bladder of four dogs with emphysematous cystitis was assessed radiographically. Ultrasonography was also performed using a 7.5-MHz microconvex probe in dorsal recumbency and in a standing position.

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