Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Sudden severe gut blood flow loss linked to worm infection in dogs
By Lerman, Omer et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary emergency and critical care (San Antonio, Tex. : 2001)·2019·Department of Pathology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Acute mesenteric ischemia-like syndrome associated with suspected Spirocerca lupi aberrant migration in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Five large breed dogs were brought in with severe abdominal issues, leading to a diagnosis of septic peritonitis, which is a serious infection in the abdomen. During surgery, veterinarians found damaged blood vessels and dead tissue in the intestines, likely caused by the migration of a parasite called Spirocerca lupi. The affected sections of the intestines were surgically removed, and most of the dogs recovered well, going home within a week. Unfortunately, one dog did not survive the treatment.
People also search for: dog abdominal pain · septic peritonitis in dogs · Spirocerca lupi treatment · dog intestinal surgery recovery · large breed dog health issues
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe acute mesenteric infarction due to suspected Spirocerca lupi aberrant migration in 5 dogs. CASE SERIES SUMMARY: All dogs were large breed, none of which exhibited typical clinical signs associated with spirocercosis. All dogs were eventually diagnosed with septic peritonitis. On exploratory laparotomy, thickening of the jejunal arteries, surrounding mesojejunum, and segmental necrosis were identified. Similar thickening and hematoma formation were found in other regions of the mesentery. In 4 of the cases, the necrotic segment was located in the distal jejunum. Histology revealed thrombotic mesenteric vessels with intralesional S. lupi nematode larvae. Resection and anastomosis of the necrosed section was performed and all but 1 dog survived and were discharged within 1-6 days. NEW OR UNIQUE INFORMATION PROVIDED: Spirocerca lupi is a potential cause of mesenteric infarction in endemic areas when no other obvious etiology is identified.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31701668/