Treating Canine Bronchopneumonia

1 What It Is

Canine bronchopneumonia, also called catarrhal or lobular pneumonia, is marked by high fever, cough, difficult breathing, and thick yellow-brown nasal discharge; in traditional Chinese medicine it is described as lung-heat wheezing.

It often follows exposure to cold and a drop in the body’s resistance, which lets both endogenous and external microbes multiply in the airways. Bronchopneumonia is usually secondary, arising during the course of canine distemper, adenovirus infection, or canine herpesvirus disease.

2 Symptoms

Early signs are those of a cold: dullness, poor appetite, initial coughing, clear nasal discharge, head-shaking from a blocked nose, shivering, raised hackles, muscle tremors, and low fever. The cough then worsens and the nose runs yellow, thick discharge — sometimes blood-tinged — that mats the fur on both sides of the muzzle, and some dogs develop diarrhea.

Auscultation finds harsh bronchial sounds at first, then moist rales and crackles, with rapid breathing and even mouth-breathing; breath sounds weaken or vanish as the alveoli fill. Temperature climbs, the dog becomes severely depressed, and it stops eating. The mucous membranes shift from bright red to purplish, and the pulse goes from rapid and full to deep and thready.

3 Treatment

A combined Western and Chinese approach works best.

Western medicine aims to reduce inflammation, stop the cough, ease breathing, and clear phlegm. One protocol: mix 100 ml isotonic glucose-saline, 0.1 g ofloxacin, 1 ml 10% caffeine sodium benzoate, 1 ml vitamin B1, 1 ml vitamin C, and 1 ml inosine, and give by intramuscular injection once daily for 2–3 days.

Chinese medicine clears lung heat, warms and settles the lungs, restores the lung qi, transforms phlegm, and relieves the cough. Options include Houttuynia (Yuxingcao) injection 1 ml IM 2–3 times daily, Andrographis (Chuanxinlian) injection 1 ml IM 2–3 times daily, or a modified Maxingshigan decoction taken as a tea.

In combined therapy, give a high dose of ampicillin by intravenous or acupoint injection (Shenzhu, Feishu), then Houttuynia by IV or acupoint injection, or oral Zhuliqing (bamboo sap) or the modified Maxingshigan decoction. For severe cough, inject ephedrine 10–30 mg into the Feishu acupoint.