Content
- What is exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
- Symptoms of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
- Causes of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs
- Genetic predisposition to the disease
- Diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
- General analysis
- Specific tests
- Treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
Disorders of the exocrine pancreas consist mainly of loss of functional pancreas mass in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, or by inflammation or pancreatitis. Clinical signs in cases of pancreatic insufficiency occur when there is a loss of at least 90% of the exocrine pancreas mass. This damage may be due to atrophy or chronic inflammation and results in a decrease in pancreatic enzymes in the intestine, which causes malabsorption and poor digestion nutrients, particularly fats, proteins and carbohydrates.
Treatment consists of administering pancreatic enzymes that do the job of what a healthy pancreas would normally produce. Continue reading this PeritoAnimal article to know everything about Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs - symptoms and treatment.
What is exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
It is called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency a inadequate production and secretion of digestive enzymes in the exocrine pancreas, that is, the pancreas does not have the capacity to separate the enzymes in their adequate amount for the digestion to be carried out correctly.
This leads to a malabsorption and poor assimilation of nutrients of the intestine, causing an accumulation of carbohydrates and fats in the intestine. From that point onwards, bacterial fermentation, hydroxylation of fatty acids and precipitation of bile acids can occur, which makes the medium more acidic and causes a bacteria overgrowth.
Symptoms of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
Clinical signs occur when there is a damage greater than 90% of the exocrine pancreatic tissue. Thus, the symptoms most frequently found in cases of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs are:
- Large and frequent stools.
- Diarrhea.
- Flatulence.
- Steatorrhea (fat in the stool).
- More appetite (polyphagia), but weight loss.
- Vomiting.
- Bad appearance of the fur.
- Coprophagia (stool intake).
During palpation, it can be noted that the bowel loops are dilated, with borborygmos.
Causes of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs
The most common cause of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs is chronic acinar atrophy and in second place would be chronic pancreatitis. In the case of cats, the latter is more common. Other causes of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs are pancreatic tumors or outside it that cause an obstruction in the pancreatic duct.
Genetic predisposition to the disease
This disease is hereditary in the following dog breeds:
- German Shepherd.
- Long-haired Border Collie.
on the other hand, it is most frequently in the races:
- Chow chow.
- English setter.
The age at greatest risk of suffering from this is between 1 and 3 years old, while in the English Setters, particularly, it is at 5 months.
In the photo below we can see a German Shepherd with pancreatic acinar atrophy, in which it is possible to notice cachexia and muscle atrophy:
Diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
In the diagnosis, in addition to taking into account the dog's symptoms, nonspecific or general tests and more specific tests must be performed.
General analysis
Within the general analysis, the following will be carried out:
- Blood analysis and biochemistry: usually no significant changes appear, and if they do appear are mild anemia, low cholesterol and proteins.
- stool exam: must be performed serially and with fresh stools to detect the presence of fat, undigested starch granules and muscle fibers.
Specific tests
Specific tests include:
- Measurement of immunoreactive trypsin in serum (TLI): which measures trypsinogen and trypsin entering the circulation directly from the pancreas. In this way, the exocrine pancreatic tissue that is functional is indirectly assessed. Specific tests are used for the canine species. Values below 2.5 mg/mL are diagnostic of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs.
- Absorption of fats: will be done by measuring lipemia (blood fat) before and for three hours after administering vegetable oil. If lipemia does not appear, the test is repeated, but incubating the oil with pancreatic enzyme for up to an hour. If lipemia appears, it indicates poor digestion and, if not, malabsorption.
- Vitamin A absorption: will be performed by administering 200,000 IU of this vitamin and is measured in the blood between 6 and 8 hours later. If there is an absorption less than three times the normal value of this vitamin, it indicates malabsorption or poor digestion.
Whenever there is suspicion of this disease, vitamin B12 and folate should be measured. High levels of folate and low levels of vitamin B12 confirm an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine possibly related to this disease.
Treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
The treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency consists of digestive enzyme administration throughout the dog's life. They can come in powder, capsules or pills. However, once they get better, the dose can be reduced.
On some occasions, despite the administration of these enzymes, the absorption of fats is not carried out correctly due to the pH of the stomach that destroys them before acting. If that happens, a stomach protector, like omeprazole, should be given once a day.
If vitamin B12 is deficient, it should be adequately supplemented according to the dog's weight. While a dog weighing less than 10 kg would need up to 400 mcg. If you weigh between 40 and 50 kg, the dose will rise to 1200 mcg of vitamin B12.
Previously, a low-fat, highly digestible, low-fiber diet was recommended, but today, it just needs to be a digestible diet. Low fat would only be recommended if enzymes are not enough. Rice, as a source of easily digestible starch, is the cereal of choice for dogs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
Now that you know what exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is and how to treat dogs, you might be interested in this video that shows you how to take care of a dog so it lives longer:
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in Dogs - Symptoms and Treatment, we recommend that you enter our Other health problems section.