Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How ERCP and sphincterotomy help diagnose and treat dog liver
By Rahmani, Vahideh et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2022·Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Diagnostic value of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and therapeutic value of endoscopic sphincterotomy in dogs with suspected hepatobiliary disorders.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 15 dogs with suspected liver and bile duct problems underwent a special procedure called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to diagnose and treat their conditions. This method was found to be effective, especially for examining the bile duct, and it had a high success rate with no major complications. In some cases, dogs had immediate improvement in bile flow after a related procedure called endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST), but not all showed clinical improvement, and a few dogs were euthanized shortly after. Overall, while ERCP can provide valuable information and treatment options, careful patient selection is important for better outcomes.
People also search for: dog liver problems treatment · endoscopic procedure for dog bile duct · dog bile duct surgery recovery
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Conventional diagnostic methods have some limitations in diagnosing specific causes of canine hepatobiliary disorders. In the evaluation of the hepatobiliary system in dogs, ultrasonography (US) is the first imaging method of choice. Nonetheless, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has also been proven to be a practicable technique for evaluating canine hepatobiliary (endoscopic retrograde cholangiography, ERC) and pancreatic duct (endoscopic retrograde pancreatography, ERP) disorders, providing additional therapeutic options by sphincterotomy (EST). To date, the efficacy and safety of diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP has not been evaluated in veterinary medicine literature. The present study sought to report complications and outcomes of dogs undergoing ERCP and EST, and to assess the usefulness of diagnostic ERCP by comparing the findings of US, ERCP and histopathological findings in liver and pancreas. RESULTS: This retrospective case series comprises data collected from 15 dogs that underwent successful ERC/ERCP. Nine dogs underwent EST following ERC. US and ERC were best in agreement when assessing the common bile duct. In case of disagreement between the modalities, the ERC findings of the ductal structures were in line with the available pathology findings more often than the US findings, whereas the opposite was noted for the gallbladder. The technical success rates were 88.2% for ERC, 66.7% for ERP, and 81.8% for EST, with no major complications during or immediately after the procedure. Immediate bile flow after EST was recorded in 7/9 dogs but only four showed coinciding clinical and laboratory improvement and four dogs were euthanized within 1-6 days after EST. CONCLUSIONS: US remains a valuable initial diagnostic imaging method for hepatobiliary disorders and allows good assessment of the gallbladder. ERC can serve as a complementary procedure for diagnostic assessment of the hepatobiliary duct disorders. However, in order to improve the outcomes of EST, careful selection of patients for the procedure would require more advanced diagnostic imaging of the hepatobiliary area.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35449000/