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Cited by 102Veterinary Medicine and SurgeryOcular Infections and TreatmentsVeterinary Equine Medical Research

Corneal ulcerative disease in dogs under primary veterinary care in England: epidemiology and clinical management

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O’Neill, Dan G., Lee, Monica M., Brodbelt, Dave C., Church, David B., Sanchez, Rick F.·2017·Canine Genetics and Epidemiology
DOI 10.1186/s40575-017-0045-5PMC PMC5471714
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Abstract

Corneal ulcerative disease (CUD) has the potential to adversely affect animal welfare by interfering with vision and causing pain. The study aimed to investigate for the first time the prevalence, breed-based risk factors and clinical management of CUD in the general population of dogs under primary veterinary care in England. Of 104,233 dogs attending 110 clinics participating within the VetCompass Programme from January 1st to December 31st 2013, there were 834 confirmed CUD cases (prevalence: 0.80%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.75–0.86). Breeds with the highest prevalence included Pug (5.42% of the breed affected), Boxer (4.98%), Shih Tzu (3.45%), Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (2.49%) and Bulldog (2.41%). Purebred dogs had 2.23 times the odds (95% CI 1.84–2.87, P < 0.001) of CUD compared with crossbreds. Brachycephalic types had 11.18 (95% CI 8.72–14.32, P < 0.001) and spaniel types had 3.13 (95% CI 2.38–4.12, P < 0.001) times the odds for CUD compared with crossbreds. Pain was recorded in 385 (46.2%) cases and analgesia was used in 455 (54.6%) of dogs. Overall, 62 (7.4%) cases were referred for advanced management and CUD contributed to the euthanasia decision for 10 dogs. Breeds such as the Pug and Boxer, and conformational types such as brachycephalic and spaniels, demonstrated predisposition to CUD in the general canine population. These results suggest that breeding focus on periocular conformation in predisposed breeds should be considered in order to reduce corneal disease.

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  • Brachycephalic conformation can cause brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) and a high predisposition to a range of disorders, including respiratory disease, eye disease, dystocia, spinal disease, exercise intolerance, heat stroke, skin cancer, and a shorter lifespan compared to moderate and non-brachycephalic dogs.

    “However, this conformation can cause brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS, see [37] for a recent review of this syndrome), with a high predisposition to a range of disorders intrinsically related to this conformation, including respiratory disease [39,65,113], eye disease [39,113,114], dystocia [65], spinal disease [115], or even exercise intolerance and heat stroke [113], alongside a”

    From Ethical Concerns about Fashionable Dog Breeding (2024) · cites this paper as [65]

  • Brachycephalic dog breeds have respiratory conditions.

    “However, this conformation can cause brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS, see [37] for a recent review of this syndrome), with a high predisposition to a range of disorders intrinsically related to this conformation, including respiratory disease [39,65,113]”

    From Ethical Concerns about Fashionable Dog Breeding (2024) · cites this paper as [65]

    The Discussion and Conclusions report a predisposition to corneal ulcerative disease in brachycephalic dogs, not respiratory disease. A search for respiratory disease and brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome found the syndrome only in reference titles, with no passage in the paper addressing the attributed respiratory claim. (LLM, conf=0.74)

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Authors
O’Neill, D. G., Lee, M. M., Brodbelt, D. C., Church, D. B., & Sanchez, R. F.
Affiliations
Royal Veterinary College (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Canine Genetics and Epidemiology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-06-15
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
5-5
ISSN
2052-6687 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s40575-017-0045-5
PMC
PMC5471714
OpenAlex
W2616334262
Cited by
102
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 2
FWCI
11.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Canine Genetics and Epidemiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RVC Research Online (Royal Veterinary College) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Dogs Trust
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Veterinary Medicine and Surgery
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Ocular Infections and Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Equine › Veterinary Equine Medical Research
Keywords
dogs, prevalence, breed predisposition, brachycephalic breeds, analgesia, euthanasia, canine eye disease, primary veterinary care

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