Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of Pancreatitis in Dogs

Canine pancreatitis is divided into acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis

Causes of Acute Pancreatitis in Dogs:

1. Infection: pancreatitis caused by virus, bacteria and parasite infection, such as canine infectious hepatitis, canine leptospirosis and canine bile duct ascariasis infection.

2. Biliary duct disease: obstruction of the ampulla of the common bile duct can cause bile to flow backward into the pancreatic duct, and activate the unactivated trypsinogen to trypsin into the pancreatic tissue, causing self-digestion, gallstones, tumor compression, local edema, etc. common bile duct obstruction.

3. Pancreatic duct obstruction: Pancreatitis occurs due to increased pancreatic duct pressure, pancreatic acinar rupture, and abnormal pancreatic enzymes due to pancreatic duct obstruction, which is commonly seen in pancreatic duct spasm and duodenitis.

4. Improper diet: feeding high-fat food can induce acute pancreatitis.

5. Hyperlipidemia, hypothyroidism, diabetes, poisoning, etc. damage the pancreas and cause acute pancreatitis.

Symptoms of acute pancreatitis in dogs:

Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammation with pancreatic edema, hemorrhage and necrosis as the main pathological process caused by the digestion of pancreatic enzyme itself. Dogs generally have clinical symptoms such as back arching and abdominal retraction, praying, severe abdominal pain, palpation of the abdomen to avoid, repeated vomiting, and diarrhea.

Causes of Chronic Pancreatitis in Dogs:

1. Infection: Infection of certain organs near the pancreas, such as the gallbladder and bile duct, can be transferred to the pancreas through the lymph nodes. Acute localized pancreatitis has not been cured for a long time (many chronic diseases are caused by long-term laissez-faire of acute diseases) , pylorus, duodenal infection, etc.

2. Pancreatic vascular diseases: such as pancreatic arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, etc.

3. Chronic pancreatic duct obstruction: caused by pancreatic stones, spasm of the sphincter of the biliary orifice, and narrowing of the pancreatic duct.

Symptoms of chronic pancreatitis in dogs:

Chronic pancreatitis refers to recurrent or persistent inflammatory changes of the pancreas, generally manifesting symptoms of indigestion, clinically characterized by recurrent abdominal pain, fatty change, hyperglycemia and diabetes.

Treatment for pancreatitis in dogs:

1. When it is determined that the dog has acute pancreatitis, the secretion of the pancreas should be reduced, that is, no food is given orally within 4 days of the illness, and some soft and easy-to-digest food will be fed when the dog’s condition improves.
2. Supplement the dog with fluids to prevent dehydration and shock, ensure blood volume, improve the blood flow of the whole body and pancreas, and maintain the balance of water and electrolytes. Usually, 5% sugar saline or compound sodium chloride 50-500mL is intravenously injected twice.
3. In order to prevent the dog from shock due to pain. Pain relievers can be given to dogs, or pain relievers can be injected intramuscularly.
4. In order to avoid other complications of infection, such as pancreas pus, diffuse peritonitis, etc., you can feed the dog some broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as penicillin and streptomycin.
5. If the dog has abscess, granulation and other complications in the late stage of pancreatitis, surgical treatment must be taken. For dogs with elevated blood sugar and diabetes, insulin can be administered according to the diabetes treatment plan.