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Treatment

The sheer force produced by exhalation and coughing can clear airway secretions, so routine exercise may enhance mucus clearance by increasing respiration and inducing coughing. Supplemental oxygen therapy may be needed during acute episodes of life-threatening bronchopneumonia. Antibiotics will be prescribed for respiratory infections on the basis of bacterial culture and sensitivity testing. It may be continued indefinitely, although it may possibly become ineffective because of a buildup of bacterial resistance. Anesthesia is risky with these patients because the ability to breath is impaired.

Living and Management

High ambient temperature may produce hyperthermia and potential heat stroke because of reduced capacity for evaporative heat loss through the lungs. Cysts in the chest may develop from prolonged air entrapment in the pleural cavity, which can then rupture and produce a pneumonic condition in the lungs. Other aftereffects are also possible. For these reasons, you will need to carefully observe and monitor your pet, and schedule frequent checkups with your veterinarian.