2018-08-012024-05-17https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/670123摘要： 呼吸疾病已成為人類重要死因，本團隊先前研究結果顯示犬貓與人類相似受到空氣污染、高齡化、肥胖等因素影響，加上臺灣流行飼養好發氣道疾病的小型犬種，呼吸症狀在犬貓非常盛行。犬貓呼吸疾病需要的診斷方式常有侵入性，導致臨床上的困難，因此非侵入性的評估方法為目前國際小動物呼吸醫學界最新的研究與發展趨勢。 超音波無侵入性且為獸醫師容易取得之儀器，但目前在小動物呼吸疾病方面的應用相當有限；基於本團隊過去已有成功研發臨床非侵入性肺功能檢查、應用不需麻醉之胸腔斷層掃描之經驗，本三年期計畫將研究發展診斷性超音波於犬貓急慢性呼吸疾病、心肺合併症之應用，使超音波成為小動物呼吸醫學另一項重要的非侵入性臨床工具與研究利器。 本計畫第一階段將研究過去胸腔超音波方法在病患合併呼吸疾病時之表現，並提出新的定性定量檢查法；在第二階段將研究定性定量指標與疾病類別或嚴重度之關聯性；在第三階段進一步評估胸腔超音波對於預後之實質診斷效益，並將整合胸腔超音波與其他現有的非侵入性方式，追蹤於前研究計劃中所建立之室內不同空污種類與程度暴露動物之3~5年長期預後。配合本團隊先前之研究成果，本三年期計畫將厚植臺灣在國際小動物呼吸醫學界之競爭實力。 Abstract: Respiratory problems are frequently seen in clinical patients of various species. The mortality from respiratory disease continues to increase worldwide in humans. Our previous research project revealed that the prevalence of respiratory signs in client-owned dogs/cats was quite high. Similar to humans, reasons that contribute to respiratory disease in veterinary patients include air pollution issue, increased aging population, obesity, and preference for small breeds in Taiwan. Unfortunately, many respiratory diagnostic procedures in veterinary medicine are invasive in nature, and the size of cats and small breeds dogs may be unsuitable or under high risk for these procedures – this was a frustrating barrier for the overall development of small animal respiratory medicine in the past decades. The development of non-invasive clinical assessment has been suggested to be the future trend for small animal respiratory medicine and an encouraging research area on the recent international academic conference of veterinary medicine Ultrasound is a non-invasive and commonly available instrument for veterinary clinicians. The application of ultrasound on thorax has lagged behind its use on abdomen for many decades because ultrasound beam penetrates aerated tissue poorly; however, there have been increased evidence that many lung pathologies are amenable to ultrasound assessment in human medicine. To date, the application of chest ultrasonography on small animal patients is limited due to lack of extensive clinical research. The present 3-year project will develop more advanced applications and techniques of chest ultrasonography in canine and feline patients with acute/chronic respiratory disease and cardiorespiratory comorbidity – this is of great importance for both research perspective and clinical need in veterinary medicine. Our clinical research team has research experience and good outcome in developing non-invasive clinical methodologies (eg., pulmonary function testing and non-general anesthesia thoracic computed tomography) in recent years, thus we are quite suitable and qualified to execute this project. The first stage of this project will evaluate the diagnostic performance of a recently-reported lung ultrasound B-lines method on canine/feline cardiac patients with concurrent respiratory disease. Meanwhile, we will investigate new qualificational and quantificational techniques of chest ultrasonography which have not yet been described or applied in small animal patients. The reproducibility of the new technique will be assessed. Selected chest ultrasonographic techniques which appear to be with acceptable interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility in stage 1 will enter in the second stage. Prospective, cross-sectional studies will be conducted for diagnostic test evaluation in stage 2. At the third stage, we will perform follow-up study to evaluate the value of selected chest ultrasonographic techniques from the prognosis aspect. In addition, pet dogs/cats with and without indoor air pollution exposure recruited in our previous research projects will be followed for their 3-5 years medium-term or long-term prognosis. Integrated non-invasive techniques will be applied to detect respiratory abnormalities. The present 3-year project shall be able to enhance the academic competitiveness and international impact of Taiwan veterinary academic clinicians in the field of small animal respiratory medicine.呼吸症狀急慢性呼吸疾病心肺合併症超音波胸腔超音波非侵入性空氣污染犬貓小動物呼吸醫學Respiratory signAcute/Chronic respiratory diseaseCardiorespiratory comorbidityUltrasoundChest ultrasonographyNon-invasiveAir pollutionDogsCatsSmall animal respiratory medicine