Comparison of etiology and outcome of dogs of cardiopulmonary resuscitation with different confirmation: the Shepherd versus the Bulldog

Junes Ossman¹Elizabeth Anne Rozanski^1*Ian DeStefano¹Deirdre GivenMandryk¹Noa Berlin¹Sabrina N Hoehne²Deborah C Silverstein³Anusha Balakrishnan⁴

• ¹Tufts University, Medford, United States
• ²University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States
• ³University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• ⁴VEG, Chapel HILL, NC, United States

Objective: To determine whether chest and head conformation in dogs is associated with etiology of cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) and likelihood to experience sustained return of spontaneous circulation (sROSC) following cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).Design: Retrospective study from 2000-2023 of dogs that underwent CPR that were one of two body types, either mesocephalic (Shepherd) or brachycephalic (Bulldog).Setting: Electronic medical records from one veterinary record system and from the Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) CPR Registry were reviewed.Animals: 162 dogs including 72 dogs comprising the mesocephalic group (MC), and 90 bulldogs comprising the brachycephalic group (BC).Measurements and Main Results: Data recorded included signalment, body weight, disease category, whether CPA occurred during general anesthesia, suspected cause of CPA, first identified rhythm on electrocardiogram during CPA, whether defibrillation was performed, whether open chest CPR was performed, whether ROSC was achieved and if it was sustained, and survival to discharge. The BC dogs were more likely to arrest associated with respiratory disease (p<0.001), and MC dogs were more likely to arrest associated with cavity bleeding (p=0.012), trauma (p=0.012) or gastric-dilatation-volvulus (p<0.001). The MC dogs were more frequently defibrillated (p=0.021). Return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 34.7% (25/72) of MC dogs and 30.0% (27/90) of BC dogs (p=0.522). Survival to discharge was similarly dismal between the two groups (p=0.434) with 2/72 (2.8%) of MC dogs and 1/90 (1.1%) of BC dogs, which reflected both re-arrest and owner decisions.. When out-of-hospital CPA cases were excluded, MC dogs were more likely to suffer from a surgical condition (p = 0.017), and experienced ventricular fibrillation more often (p = 0.032).: Dogs with different head and chest confirmations developed CPA for different reasons, with diseases like GDV and trauma more commonly affecting MC dogs and respiratory disease more commonly affecting BC dogs. Defibrillation was more common in the MC dogs. Abbreviations list: brachycephalic conformation (BC); cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA); dead on arrival (DOA); gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV); German shepherd dogs (GSD); mesocephalic conformation (MC); pulseless electrical activity (PEA); Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER); return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), sustained return of spontaneous circulation (sROSC).