Is it like flying into the Bermuda Triangle?

by Christopher Forsythe, DVM

Hello, readers. Welcome to Health Matters. My name is Dr. Christopher Forsythe. I am a small-animal veterinarian practicing in Sonoma. Each month I will contribute a pet veterinary care topic with the hope of tweaking your interest, making you smile, and educating you about your pets.

It happens every year. Aunt Millie brings her favorite bourbon balls, and cousin Gladys unwraps her (ugh) mouth-watering fruitcake, that same one you’ve been dreading since you finally got around to throwing the last one out during Spring cleaning last year. Dinners with all the trimmings, meat with gravy! After-dinner chocolates! Cookies and treats, too! Holiday tidings to all!! Then, while you’re sitting there at the holiday table, you look down to see your loyal and loving pet gazing up, waiting for a morsel. Little do you suspect that by giving in to those big brown eyes, and slipping her a tidbit of the turkey skin, you could be causing her big gastronomic trouble. In this issue I will try to explain the whos, whats, whens, wheres and whys of pancreatitis, so you can ponder this dreadful little disease while you are trussing your holiday turkey.

Ooh, I wish I weren’t a mini!

Miniature schnauzer dogs and miniature poodles seem to get more cases than most other pure- bred dogs, but terriers and Cocker Spaniels follow closely behind. Siamese cats also top the list of the most commonly affected kitties. Pancreatitis is more common in middle aged and old dogs and cats, and it is more common in females than males.

Pancrea-what?

Acute pancreatitis is inflammation of a boomerang-shaped organ that sits next to the stomach and small intestine in dogs and cats.

When does pancreatitis occur? If the cause of pancreatitis is dietary indiscretion (i.e., Muff slurping up some Turkey with gravy at the Christmas table), the pet usually becomes very ill within 2-3 days. As you can imagine, holidays provide a great opportunity for "dietary indiscretion," so veterinarians often see numerous cases of pancreatitis at Thanksgiving and Christmas time. The main function of the pancreas is to help the body break down and digest fats and to regulate body sugars by producing the hormone insulin.

Why, oh why, do pets get pancreatitis?

The causes are usually unknown, but usually dietary indiscretion (consuming a high fat meal) is the most common cause. Other causes are trauma, drugs/toxins, or infectious agents. The pancreas is an extremely delicate organ that is sensitive to manipulation and to infection.

Pepper Story: the burning bowels

Little Pepper Story has the whole package: a compact little body, svelte and coarsely coated. The schnauzer face is unmistakable, but the Scottish Terrier is also undeniable in her resolute personality and "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead approach" to life and eating carrion.

Last year little Pepper, on one of her innocent romps through Jack London State Park, decided to sample all that the oak-studded wilderness had to offer, including the carcass of a small, unidentified rodent that was obviously delicious. Two days later, the precious, normally vivacious pup was in my office, lethargic, wincing, and not her usual self. Her crumpled-up posture spoke volumes and her whimper upon palpation of her tummy added more information. But when the rubber glove test revealed a reddish bloody stool in her rectum, it was time to test her for pancreatitis.

The blood tests showed elevations in her liver enzymes and lipase, all indications that her body was responding to the ingestion of a little varmint that had begun creating havoc in her body and causing her pancreas to swell and respond to digest the problem away. Pepper also had the appearance of some small bones in her outflow track of her intestine, consistent with the passage of her "little friend."

Pepper, being the treasure of the Story family and one of the crown jewels of the Altimira Veterinary Hospital patients, was whisked into the treatment area to receive aggressive treatment for acute pancreatitis. This included an IV catheter, fluids, antibiotics, and medication to prevent vomiting.

The majority of the treatment for pancreatitis is supportive care. This involves aggressive inpatient medical management, and IV fluid therapy. We feed nothing by mouth for 3-5 days, which was nearly traumatic to little Pepper, who finds scavenging for tasty morsels almost a hobby during the holiday season. During Pepper’s period of fasting, she simply gazed, aghast, while her humans partook of the holiday Hershey kisses, petit fours, and peanut brittle. Her only treat: oral metronidazole, an anti-inflammatory antibiotic which acts to reduce the bacteria that had quickly grown and multiplied in her intestinal tract.

Pepper’s owners were happy to report that just three short days after treatment began, the little holiday puppy was once again bouncing for joy and begging for treats, and searching high and low for anything and everything forbidden to eat. Both her mother and father promised to watch her every move, as well as her bowel movements for regularity and consistency, so that doctor and family could sleep better knowing that Pepper was back to normal.