Risk factors for gastric dilatation and volvulus in central Europe: an internet survey

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The aim of this internet-based questionnaire was to determine risk factors for the development and survival of gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV) in dogs in central Europe. The questionnaire focused on general information, feeding and elimination behaviour, family history, personality and routine habits, was freely distributed on the internet. Respondents were recruited by e-mail, and announcement of the survey on websites focused on dogs or breeder clubs and flyers in veterinary clinics and at dog shows. Responses from the owners of 785 dogs were analysed. Data underwent descriptive statistical and logistic regression analysis. Factors associated with an increased risk of GDV are intact male, specific breed, pet food and first-degree relative with gastric-dilatation and volvulus. In contrast, low risk was observed in spayed females, dogs eating meals with large particles, dogs with frequent defecation or in dogs kept at home. Non-survivors had a significantly longer time between food consumption and the development of clinical signs than survivors. We conclude that the risk of GDV development is associated with several factors. Some of these can be influenced by the owner or veterinarian.

Are Dogs Fed a Kibble-Based Diet More Likely to Experience an Episode of Gastric Dilatation Volvulus Than Dogs Fed an Alternative Diet?

“…The literature searches uncovered six papers (Glickman et Uhrikova et al, 2015) that either partially or fully addressed the PICO question. These papers do not neatly address the PICO as the dogs studied either all/almost all were fed a kibble only diet or kibble as the primary diet (Glickman et al, 1997;Ragavan et al, 2004) or fed different diet types in combination (Theyse et al, 1998;Uhrikova et al, 2015) and/or assessed diet in terms of the maximum size of the food particles (Theyse et al, 1998;Uhrikova et al, 2015) that comprised the diet fed so the summaries of the experimental details should be examined for further understanding.…”

“…One paper (Uhrikova et al, 2015) found no effect of feeding a kibble only diet, but dogs fed a diet containing some kibble were more likely to experience a GDV than dogs fed a diet with no kibble. However, in this study the median weight of the dogs in the control group was significantly different to those in the two GDV groups (groups based on GDV -survival: 1.…”

“…reduced the risk of GDV (Uhrikova et al, 2015), as did feeding table scraps (but not canned commercial food) as part of the diet (Glickman et al, 1997) or adding fish or egg supplements to the diet (Pipan et al, 2012). Several studies (Glickman et al, 1997;Elwood, 1998;Raghavan et al, 2004;Uhrikova et al, 2015) reported collecting data on dry and moistened kibble diets, but only one paper (Glickman et al, 1997) reported their findings specifically in relation to dry kibble versus moistened kibble.…”

“…Several studies (Glickman et al, 1997;Elwood, 1998;Raghavan et al, 2004;Uhrikova et al, 2015) reported collecting data on dry and moistened kibble diets, but only one paper (Glickman et al, 1997) reported their findings specifically in relation to dry kibble versus moistened kibble. They found that moistening the dry kibble diet before feeding did not affect risk of GDV compared with feeding dry kibble only.…”

“…Both of the papers (Theyse et al, 1998;Uhrikova et al, 2015) that focused on particle size present within the diet found that feeding a diet with small particles of food only (< 5mm; Theyse et al, 1998) or medium particles of food as a maximum (5-30mm, but not small particles less than < 5mm; Uhrikova et al, 2015) increased risk of GDV compared with dogs fed a diet containing some large particles of food (> 30mm). In these studies, any diet containing particles greater than > 30mm contained none-kibble components (either partially or exclusively).…”