Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Silent acid reflux happens often in healthy dogs without symptoms
By Grobman, Megan E et al.Ā·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicineĀ·2020Ā·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United StatesĀ·View original on PubMed ā
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Original publication title: Detection of silent reflux events by nuclear scintigraphy in healthy dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Twelve healthy dogs were tested for gastroesophageal reflux, a condition where stomach contents flow back into the esophagus. The study found that all dogs experienced some level of reflux, but none showed signs of aspiration, which is when food or liquid enters the airway. The reflux events were brief, lasting about 6 seconds on average, and occurred about twice every five minutes. This suggests that reflux is quite common in healthy dogs, even if it doesn't lead to noticeable symptoms or complications.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Reflux and aspiration in people are associated with respiratory disease, whereas approximately 50% of healthy adults microaspirate without apparent consequence. In dogs, analogous information is lacking. HYPOTHESIS: Healthy dogs commonly have gastroesophageal reflux and a proportion of these dogs will have laryngopharyngeal reflux with silent aspiration. ANIMALS: Twelve healthy, client-owned dogs. METHODS: Prospective study: Dogs were free-fed a meal containing (111 MBq) colloidalm-technetium phytate. Dynamic-scans were performed 5 and 30 minutes postingestion. Time-activity curves, reflux margination, volume, frequency, and duration were evaluated over 7 regions of interest in dorsal ± left-lateral recumbency. Static scans (dorsal recumbency) were performed 2 and 18 hours postfeeding to detect aspiration. Reflux and aspiration were defined as counts ≥200% background activity ± decreased gastric counts. Between-group comparisons were performed by Wilcoxon rank-sum test or one-way ANOVA on ranks with significance of P < .05. RESULTS: In this study, reflux of variable magnitude was detected in 12/12 dogs. No significant differences in outcome parameters were detected with recumbency (P > .05). Margination to the pharynx and proximal, middle, and distal esophagus was identified in 5/12, 2/12, 3/12, and 2/12 dogs, respectively. Median (IQR) reflux frequency and duration were 2 events/5 minutes (1-3.3 events/5 minutes) and 6 seconds (4-9 seconds) respectively. No dog had detectable aspiration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Nuclear scintigraphy can document reflux in dogs. Reflux, but not aspiration, is common in healthy dogs and must be considered when interpreting results in clinically affected dogs.
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Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32533759/