Chronic enteropathy (CE) in dogs is common worldwide, but little data is available from Australia. The aim of this study was to describe treatment response and long‐term outcome in a cohort of dogs with CE.
Dogs were prospectively enrolled at Murdoch University and the University of Melbourne. After diagnostic investigation to rule out diseases other than CE, dogs underwent sequential therapeutic trials until achieving a clinical response (diet then antibiotics, and finally immunosuppressants). Success was defined as 75% reduction of clinical severity for a minimum of five weeks.
A total of 21 dogs were enrolled, and 19 completed the study. One dog was euthanised for lack of response to treatment and one excluded for lack of owner compliance. Most dogs responded to diet (n = 10), followed by antibiotics (n = 7) and immunosuppressants (n = 2). Long‐term remission (median 21.1 months, [3.0‐44.7]) was achieved in eight out of ten dietary responders without additional treatment. In contrast, only two dogs with antibiotic response remained in long‐term remission, of which one needed on‐going antibiotic treatment. Longer term remission was achieved in the two dogs treated with immunosuppressants with on‐going low dose therapy.
This study concludes that most dogs referred for CE in Australia respond to dietary treatment (even after previous dietary interventions), and remission is long‐term compared to dogs treated with an antibiotic. Furthermore, the need for long‐term antibiotics in some dogs to maintain response may lead to antibiotic resistance. This study supports adequate dietary trials for CE in dogs, and a need for alternative second‐line treatments.
Measurement of fecal cytokines has been used as a marker of intestinal inflammation in people and correlates with endoscopic findings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of canine-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISAs) for quantification of cytokines in canine fecal samples as a non-invasive biomarker. Interleukin (IL)-6,-8,-10,-23/12p40 and TNF- were assessed by using spiked fecal samples from 3 healthy dogs. Standard curve validation was performed, and the impact of time to freeze, duration of storage and number of freeze-thaw cycles on cytokine concentration were also examined. All the cytokines assayed could be detected, with varying accuracy. The mean coefficient of variation (CV) for all standard curves ranged from 2.95%-9.8%. The mean intra-assay CV ranged from 3.1%-11.14%, and inter-assay CV from 4.36%-18.83%. Recovery of IL-23 was poor (7.23%-17.12%), precluding further interpretation of stability studies. Mean recovery did not appear to be affected by time to freeze and repeat freeze-thaw cycles in all cytokines investigated. Recovery for all cytokines after short-term storage of 30 days at −80˚C showed a recovery of <70% or >130%. In conclusion, although fecal IL-6,-8,-10, and TNF- could be used as biomarkers of intestinal inflammation in the dog, the quality of laboratory performance and poor recovery at lower concentrations limit their application. Bench-top and freeze-thaw stability was acceptable, and samples should ideally be analyzed within a week. Investigation involving dogs with acute and chronic inflammatory intestinal disease is required to determine the role of this methodology in a clinical setting.
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