A J Vet Intern Med study of 396 dogs and cats found associations between signalment, clinical signs, and localization or categories of nasal and nasopharyngeal disease, including stertor and dyspnea in cats with nasopharyngeal disease and sneezing or reverse sneezing patterns in dogs.
Three quick summaries of the same article, tailored for different readers.
For owners, the helpful lesson is to describe exactly what you see and hear. Sneezing, reverse sneezing, snorting, noisy breathing, nasal discharge, nosebleeds, reduced airflow, and trouble breathing do not all point to the same location. A study of dogs and cats with nasal and nasopharyngeal disease shows why videos, duration, one-sided versus both-sided signs, and appetite or energy changes can help the clinic.
Good source for making upper-airway signs more understandable.For vet techs, this is a documentation-friendly paper. The intake note should separate sneezing, reverse sneezing, stertor, stridor-like noise, dyspnea, epistaxis, nasal discharge character, airflow change, laterality, duration, appetite, and systemic signs. Cats and dogs may show different associations, so species is not just demographic filler. Better language at intake can sharpen the veterinarian’s localization.
Useful for building an upper-respiratory history template.For pre-vet readers, this study is a classic semiology lesson. Clinical signs are not definitive diagnoses, but they can shift probability. In cats, stertor and dyspnea may raise suspicion for nasopharyngeal localization, while in dogs, sneezing and reverse sneezing may help separate nasal from nasopharyngeal patterns. Epistaxis can overlap across diagnoses, so airflow and systemic signs become important refiners.
Read it for localization-based clinical reasoning.