New insights into the etiology, risk factors, and pathogenesis of pancreatitis in dogs: Potential impacts on clinical practice

Abstract

While most cases of pancreatitis in dogs are thought to be idiopathic, potential risk factors are identified. In this article we provide a state‐of‐the‐art overview of suspected risk factors for pancreatitis in dogs, allowing for improved awareness and detection of potential dog‐specific risk factors, which might guide the development of disease prevention strategies. Additionally, we review important advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of pancreatitis and potential areas for therapeutic manipulation based thereof. The outcome of pathophysiologic mechanisms and the development of clinical disease is dependent on the balance between stressors and protective mechanisms, which can be evaluated using the critical threshold theory.

Risk Factors and Clinical Presentation in Dogs with Increased Serum Pancreatic Lipase Concentrations—A Descriptive Analysis

“…Indeed, corticosteroids are now being used with increasing frequency in the management of acute pancreatitis [ 40 , 41 ]. In contrast with those results, our study showed a moderate frequency of corticosteroid use prior to sampling in dogs with increased Spec cPL concentrations, and this may reflect the presence of concurrent disease treated with corticosteroids or secondary pancreatic inflammation influenced by concurrent disease [ 8 ]. We cannot, however, rule out the potential that corticosteroids caused pancreatitis in some of the dogs in our study.…”

“…Many diseases have been identified as potential risk factors for pancreatitis in dogs, including endocrinopathies, hypertriglyceridemia, infectious agents, and other miscellaneous disorders [ 8 ]. Hyperadrenocorticism (HAC) was reported in the history of 12/101 dogs with pancreatitis in one retrospective study, and in another study, dogs with HAC had higher cPLI concentrations than a control group of dogs [ 17 , 18 ].…”

“…High-fat diets have long been suggested as a risk factor for pancreatitis in dogs based on early studies showing that high-fat diets induce or worsen the severity of pancreatitis in dogs [ 42 , 43 ]. However, limited data exist on naturally occurring disease, and a recent review concluded that there was insufficient evidence to make a definitive conclusion on the effects of high levels of dietary fat on the development of pancreatitis [ 8 ]. Adult maintenance diets were fed to the majority of respondents in the current study; however, dog treats and human foods were also fed to a significant proportion of the test population.…”

“…Additionally, pancreatitis in dogs is commonly considered idiopathic in nature, but several risk factors have been proposed [ 8 ]. Identification of risk factors would allow for the development of disease prevention strategies.…”

Species differences in the biopharmaceutical properties of fuzapladib sodium monohydrate in rats, cats, and dogs

“…Acute pancreatitis is known to induce multi-organ dysfunction due to activation of proteolytic enzymes, 1 and neutrophils and macrophages also play a key role in inflammatory responses in acute pancreatitis. 2 Phospholipase A2 (PLA2), a lipolytic enzyme, is a key regulatory enzyme in the generation of prostanoids, 3 and a significant increase in type II PLA2 activity has been thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of acutepancreatitis. 4 Previously, fuzapladib sodium monohydrate (IKV-741,N-[2-(ethylsulfonylamino)-5-(trifluoromethyl)-3-pyridinyl]cyclohexanecarboxamide mono sodium salt monohydrate) was developed as a potent phospholipase A2 inhibitor.…”