Abstract
Simple SummaryThe majority of dogs with chronic idiopathic gastrointestinal (GI) disease are diet-responsive. We retrospectively evaluated what dietary information was gained when dogs were presented with chronic GI signs to either our Gastroenterology (GE) (n = 243) or Internal Medicine (IM) (n = 239) Service between 10/2017 and 01/2020. Referral documents mentioned the previously fed diet in 53/131 (40%) GE and 14/112 (13%) IM referrals. No dog had received more than one diet trial from the referring veterinarian. Diet trials had been performed in 127/199 (64%) GE and 56/156 (36%) IM dogs prior to presenting to our teaching hospital. The diet fed at the time of consultation could be named by 106/199 (53%) GE and 40/156 (26%) IM dog owners. Data on response to subsequent newly prescribed diets were available from 86 GE dogs and 88 IM dogs. A positive response to diet was noted in 50/86 (58%) GE and 26/88 (30%) IM dogs. A further 23/35 (66%) GE dogs and 12/21 (57%) IM dogs responded positively to a second diet trial, and 4/9 GE dogs (44%) and 6/7 (86%) IM dogs responded positively to a third diet trial. In conclusion, obtainable dietary information was infrequent. Positive response is still possible after initial diet failures. Further studies are now needed to determine if collecting complete dietary information at the time of consultations could lead to an increased percentage of diet-responsive disease.The majority of dogs with chronic idiopathic gastrointestinal (GI) disease respond to diet. So far, no study has assessed how much dietary information is obtained during consultations. We retrospectively evaluated what dietary information was available from dogs presenting to our Gastroenterology (GE), and Internal Medicine (IM) Service between 10/2017 and 01/2020. Data from 243 dogs presenting for first GE consultations were compared to 239 dogs presenting with chronic GI signs for first IM consultations. Referrals comprised 131 (54%) GE dogs and 112 (47%) IM dogs. Referral documents specified the previously fed diet in 53/131 (40%) GE and 14/112 (13%) IM dogs. No dog had received more than one previous diet trial for chronic GI signs. Irrespective of referral status, diet trials had been performed in 127/199 (64%) GE, and 56/156 (36%) IM dogs. The specific diet fed at the time of consultation could only be named by 106/199 (53%) GE and 40/156 (26%) IM dog owners. Data on response to subsequent newly prescribed diets were available from 86 GE dogs and 88 IM dogs. A positive response to diet was noted in 50/86 (58%) GE and 26/88 (30%) IM dogs. A further 23/35 (66%) GE dogs and 12/21 (57%) IM dogs responded positively to a second diet trial, and 4/9 GE dogs (44%) and 6/7 (86%) IM dogs responded positively to a third diet trial. In conclusion, overall dietary information gained from referring veterinarians and owners was often incomplete. More dietary information could be gained during GE consultations compared to IM consultations for chronic GI signs. A positive response to diet can still be seen after two diet failures. Further studies will help to ascertain if the percentage of diet-responsive GI disease increases when more complete dietary information is obtained at the time of consultations.
Highlights
When assessing the response to therapy in dogs with chronic idiopathic gastrointestinal (GI) disease, food-responsive disease (FRD) has emerged as the most common entity, while antibiotic- and corticosteroid-responsive disease is less frequently documented [1]
We investigated how much dietary information can be obtained from referring veterinarians and dog owners when presenting to our hospital for chronic GI signs
Our data confirmed this, diet was only mentioned in referral documents from 40% of cases referred to the GE Service and 13% referred to the Internal Medicine (IM) Service
Summary
When assessing the response to therapy in dogs with chronic idiopathic gastrointestinal (GI) disease, food-responsive disease (FRD) has emerged as the most common entity, while antibiotic- and corticosteroid-responsive disease is less frequently documented [1] This is best studied in dogs with chronic small intestinal enteropathy of varying severity [2–7], and applies to dogs with chronic colitis [8], and dietary interventions are successful when treating acute diarrhea [9,10]. Still, it is our long-term clinical experience that the majority of dog owners feeding commercial diets do not know what diet they have been feeding when asked during consultations. The literature has not investigated treatment success after a failed diet trial in dogs with GI disease and it is our experience that costly and invasive diagnostics such as endoscopy are not immediately indicated after one failed diet trial
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