Vodnarek et al: Reliability of fluoroscopic examination of nasopharyngeal dorsoventral dimension change in pugs and French bulldogs
Veterinary Surgery 1, 2024

🔍 Key Findings

• Study population: 36 brachycephalic dogs (20 French bulldogs, 16 pugs).
• Objective: Compare intra- and interobserver reliability for fluoroscopic measurement of nasopharyngeal collapse using two methods:
  • Functional method
  • Anatomically adjusted method
• Key measurements: Minimum (LMin), maximum (LMax) dorsoventral height, and dynamic change ratio (ΔL).
• Outcomes:
  • Intraobserver agreement for ΔL was higher with the functional method (ICC 0.751 vs. 0.576).
  • Observer 1 (radiologist) showed excellent repeatability (>0.9 ICC).
  • Agreement for grading collapse was only moderate (κ ~0.49–0.53), worse than ΔL-based agreement.
  • ΔL ≥ 0.5 to <1 = partial collapse; ΔL = 1 = complete collapse.