Reliability of fluoroscopic examination of nasopharyngeal dorsoventral dimension change in pugs and French bulldogs

Objective To compare intra‐ and interobserver agreements in two‐dimensional measurements of changes in nasopharyngeal dimensions during breathing in pugs and French bulldogs. Study design Experimental randomized study. Animals A total of 20 French bulldogs and 16 pugs. Methods Four observers with different levels of experience measured the dorsoventral dimensions of the nasopharynx during inspiration and expiration on fluoroscopy videos. Measurements were performed at the maximal narrowing of the nasopharynx for the functional method and at the level of the tip of the epiglottis for the anatomically adjusted method. The intra‐ and interobserver agreements of the measurements, ratio of the dynamic nasopharyngeal change (ΔL), and grade of nasopharyngeal (NP) collapse (no, partial or complete) were evaluated. Results The functional method resulted in intraobserver correlation coefficients of 0.532 (p