Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Starting feeding sooner linked to better survival in cats with liver
By Wallace, Olivia P et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2024·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Association of time to start of enteral nutrition and outcome in cats with hepatic lipidosis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 48 cats diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis (a serious liver condition) were studied to see how quickly they received enteral nutrition (feeding through a tube) after being admitted to the hospital. The results showed that starting enteral nutrition within 12 hours did not significantly affect survival rates compared to starting later. However, older cats and those with fluid buildup in the abdomen were more likely to not survive. Interestingly, cats that started feeding later had shorter hospital stays. Overall, the timing of enteral nutrition did not seem to harm the cats' chances of recovery.
People also search for: cat hepatic lipidosis treatment · enteral nutrition for cats · why is my cat not eating · cat liver disease survival rate
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Enteral nutrition (EN) is essential for management of hepatic lipidosis (HL) in cats. OBJECTIVES: To determine if time to start of EN and other clinicopathologic variables are associated with outcome in cats with HL. ANIMALS: Forty-eight cats with HL. METHODS: Retrospective study. Information retrieved from medical records and client communications included clinicopathologic findings, time to start of EN, initial % of resting energy requirements provided, type of feeding tube, duration of hospitalization, and 3-month survival. Variables were compared between surviving and nonsurviving cats and between cats fed ≤12 hours and >12 hours after hospital admission. Multivariable statistical testing was performed to further investigate variables of interest. RESULTS: Seventeen of 25 (68%) cats fed ≤12 hours and 13 of 23 (57%) of cats fed >12 hours after hospital admission survived (P = .55). Only increasing age (odds ratio [OR], 1.313; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.032-1.671; P = .03) and the presence of ascites (OR, 6.415; 95% CI, 1.354-30.395; P = .02) were associated with death in multivariable analysis. Hospitalization duration (median, interquartile range [IQR]) was shorter in cats fed >12 hours (2.8 days; IQR, 2.1-3.8 days) as compared with cats fed ≤12 hours (4.8 days; IQR, 3.6-6.2 days) after hospital admission (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: An initial stabilization period before EN introduction does not decrease survival or increase duration of hospitalization in cats with HL.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39447212/