PNEUMONYSSOIDES CANINUM INFECTION - A RISK FACTOR FOR GASTRIC DILATATION-VOLVULUS IN DOGS

The pathophysiology, clinical course and therapeutic management of gas tric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) in dogs are well known. However, the ae tiology remains elusive. Aerophagia has often been put forward as a co ntributing cause of GDV. The most common clinical sign in dogs with na sal mite (Pneumonyssoides caninum?) infection is 'reversed sneezing', which may result in aerophagia. A prospective one-year necropsy study was conducted. Of 250 dogs, 17 were GDV cases and, of these, 35% had c oncurrent nasal mite infection compared to 5% in the control populatio n. Multivariate logistic regression analyses performed using the 187 d ogs with complete records included nasal mite infection status, age, w eight and gender. Nasal mite infection was found to be the most import ant risk factor for GDV in this study, with an odds ratio and confiden ce interval of 27.6 (4.8-157.5). Other risk factors that were marginal ly significant included weight and age with odds ratios of 1.08 (1.02- 1.13) and 1.37 (1.04-1.79), respectively. Gender was not found to be a significant risk factor for GDV. This study suggests that nasal mite infection may contribute to the development of GDV in otherwise predis posed dogs.