Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cholelithiasis in dogs - how common and what to expect
By Ward, Patricia M et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2020·From Small Animal Hospital (P.M.W., United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Cholelithiasis in the Dog: Prevalence, Clinical Presentation, and Outcome.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs was diagnosed with gallstones (cholelithiasis) after ultrasounds were performed, with most cases being found incidentally during other examinations. Out of 68 dogs, only 8 showed symptoms like bile duct blockage or inflammation of the gallbladder. Most dogs did not experience any complications over the next two years, with only a few developing issues related to their gallstones. This suggests that while gallstones can occur in dogs, they often don’t cause problems and may not require treatment.
People also search for: dog gallstones symptoms · dog bile duct obstruction treatment · why does my dog have gallstones
Abstract
Canine cholelithiasis is considered to be an uncommon condition and is frequently cited as being an incidental finding. However, there is a paucity of contemporary literature to support these assertions. The aim of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to report the prevalence, clinical presentation, and long-term follow-up of cholelithiasis in dogs. The electronic database at the Small Animal Hospital, University of Glasgow was searched to identify dogs that were diagnosed with cholelithiasis on ultrasound between 2010 and 2018. Sixty-eight dogs were identified, giving an overall prevalence of cholelithiasis in our hospital of 0.97% (confidence interval 0.76-1.22%). Medical records of 61 dogs were available for review. Cholelithiasis was classified as an incidental finding in 53 (86.9%) dogs, with 8 (13.1%) dogs being classified as symptomatic, having complications of cholelithiasis that included biliary duct obstruction, biliary peritonitis, emphysematous cholecystitis, and acute cholecystitis. Follow-up was available for 39 dogs, with only 3 dogs (7.7%) developing complications attributed to cholelithiasis, including biliary duct obstruction and acute cholecystitis, within the subsequent 2 yr. Cholelithiasis is an uncommon but frequently incidental finding in dogs. Within the follow-up period, few of the dogs with incidental cholelithiasis went on to be become symptomatic.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32182115/