Perspectives in veterinary medicine: Description and classification of bronchiolar disorders in cats

Reinero, Carol R.; Masseau, Isabelle; Grobman, Megan; Vientos-Plotts, Aida; Williams, Kurt

Although this suggested classification scheme is a starting point for cats, it will need modification as awareness of bronchiolar disorders in cats increases and cases are investigated prospectively. Additionally, it is critical to realize that veterinarians are likely to detect bronchiolar disorders late in the disease course for several reasons: (i) cats hide respiratory disease well, (ii) aggressive diagnostic testing, including lung biopsy, is rarely advocated unless underlying disease is serious and there are potentially treatable differential diagnoses, (iii) serious disease is associated with anesthetic risk, and (iv) advanced diagnostic tests are expensive. Detection of end-stage lesions will not provide much needed clues about common underlying etiologies because the inciting factor may be gone, and there are likely many insults that share a final common pathway with similar clinical, physiological, and histologic appearances. 25 At the present, we believe that CT provides the best minimally invasive antemortem evidence of bronchiolar disease in cats. Importantly, histopathologic correlates will be required before CT alone can be considered a less invasive surrogate diagnostic test.