Canine Eosinophilic Bronchopneumopathy (EBP)

Canine Eosinophilic Bronchopneumopathy (EBP) 09/03/2011

Big words for a furry guy, huh? But that's what I have. After about 5 months and almost $2,000, a wonderful doctor was able to determine what has been wrong with me all this time. Mom took me to another doctor lady who had some equipment she was able to use to figure it out. Mom didn't just rest easy, either. She researched and talked to the lady about all kinds of stuff to find out. I've never been poked and prodded so much in my life. They even made me sleepy so they could take something called "x-rays" of my whole body.

I guess this is something that I'm going to have forever. But thank goodness mom now knows what to do about it so it doesn't get really bad. You see, EBP can be quite serious. It means that my lungs are inflamed, but not from infection. The true definition of it is: "a disease characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of lung and bronchial mucosa." See? Big words? But it all boils down to the fact that I cough a lot, and gag, and have snot issues. Sometimes I even feel a bit tired on some days and can't walk as much or run with mom anymore. Nobody knows why I got it. But some people say that it started with something called an a-l-l-e-r-g-y. The lady doctor said that this is a rare thing, but when it is found, it's mostly found in breeds like me and like Chloe (northern breeds).

Mom has been giving me something called prednisone for about three months now. At first I thought I was just getting free hot dogs and pizza rolls, but soon I realized that whenever mom went to the cabinet, I was getting something put in my food. Sometimes I just wouldn't eat it. It makes me feel really funny. At first I was taking a lot of it and I had to pee ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I couldn't hold it and sometimes I went in my sleep. Mom never got mad at me though. She just cleaned me and the floors up and moved on. Then I got really, really hungry. I wanted to eat everything. I'd even wake dad up in the middle of the night to eat. After awhile, mom just wouldn't give me more food because she said I was getting fat, sooooo, I started hunting down all the socks in the house. Yummy, but not so good the next day. Boy it made my tummy hurt. And worse of all, I started feeling a bit jumpy. I didn't like Chloe bothering me and I let her know about it. Sometimes I just had to speak up for no reason at all, and sometimes I got really mad at the dogs next door. But pretty soon, I wasn't taking as much and I began to feel better. Now I'm just taking a little bit every other day and I feel much better. Still cough and sneeze, but everybody's getting used to it. I still like to go for walks with mom, but I just can't seem to go as far as I used to. Mom also gives me something called Zyrtec now and then if it's a really dusty day outside or she does house cleaning that stirs up dust. I guess that aggravates my condition a bit.

Well enough with the serious talk. I'm gonna be okay and mom says the money spent was well worth it to figure that out. She calls me the million dollar dog! I must be important! :)

Comments

Ivette Rossi

01/23/2012 04:13

Hello. I have been dealing with a coughing and gagging, sneezing 2.5 year old siberian husky. My beautiful girl, Luna. I have found articles on this condition and I'm so worried that this is what she has. Have had her at the vets several times and they x-rayed her, did bloodwork and even ran a lungworm test. She's active, eats well, sleeps well and doesn't do it all day. Doesn't do it at all when she's outside. Only in the house and not always either? There is no mucus coming out of her nose. Just a dry cough. My vets next suggestion is to do a tracheal wash, of which I haven't ruled out, but at the same time, I'm being told that her symptoms do not seem exactly like the symptoms of EBP? Any advice? I'm at my wits end. : ( It's been affecting me more than her and the rest of my household!

Jaxon

01/25/2012 08:55

I can sure sympathize with Luna! The mucus from the nose is secondary to the coughing and gagging. It is not always present. The age, gender and breed fit with the possibility that this is EBP (females are affected more than males). What is her CBC differential? There would most likely be elevated eosinophils and neutrophils, but not always. Jaxon's neutrophils were definitely high and he had mildly elevated eosinophils.

Once heartworm and any other blood or lung parasites were ruled out, as well as any type of foreign object blockage or pneumonia, which we verified with a chest x-ray, my vet was ready to move on to the EBP diagnosis. However, the only definitive test is a tracheal wash or bronchial lavage which is very pricey. For Jaxon, we opted to act on the assumption that this was EBP and not to do that test. The reasoning was that all other factors were present, and we had ruled out so many things... I didn't feel like it was a necessary cost. If you opt for it now, you may be out some cash, but you'll definitely know if it's NOT EBP.

He was put on a four month steroid treatment, a tapering dose. It was rough going for awhile. Side effects are horrible during the high dosage days. He would actually urinate in his sleep. He's gained 17 pounds since August. We just finished that four days ago. What we DID do, though, is plan ahead. We had blood drawn BEFORE we started prednisone so that if symptoms didn't improve, we could do an allergy test. Then my vet froze the blood sample. They can't test the blood for allergies until a dog has been off steroids for 6-8 weeks. So instead of a $800 procedure, I paid $100 for the treatment knowing I might have to pay another $150 for an allergy test if the treatment didn't work and Jax DID improve somewhat. I just made sure to keep him out of situations were his condition was aggravated. He wasn't allowed in the house while I vacuumed and dusted and for about an hour after, and I kept him indoors on extremely windy and high pollen days.

This morning, Jax went back for his recheck. While he did improve, his symptoms never completely went away, but did become less frequent while on the steroid. That's conducive of EBP, as sometimes the symptoms never truly do go away and it takes lifelong management. Now its a dry hacking cough during the day, but a wet one with a little retching in the morning. Some reverse sneezing. Minimal nose drainage. Less energy, but ok. The trick is to find the lowest dose of steroid that works. But now I want to see if he in fact DOES have an environmental allergy (possibly dust mites?). Today, we are sending out that pre-drawn blood for an allergy test and doing another CBC. In the meantime, we are going to 5 mg prednisone daily and a 1/2 Zyrtec on days when symptoms are bad while we wait.

Doc says that if the allergy test comes back positive, we will start a desensitizing regimen. If it comes back clear, we will consider three treatment options for Jax. Continued prednisone (highest risk of long-term side effects), an inhaled steroid (lowest risk, most expensive), or cyclosporin. Cyclosporin is an immunosuppresent drug and there isn't much data on its use for this condition, but my vet is going to do significant research.

If you would like, I would be happy to send Jax's records to you so you can compare them with Luna's results. Feel free to email me directly at director@winterpaws.org.

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