Antisecretory factor treatment for acute diarrhea in dogs

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Antisecretory factor (AF) is an endogenous protein regulating cellular fluid and ion transport, which has been shown to shorten the duration of diarrhoea in people. METHODS: This study is a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial. Seventy-two client-owned dogs with acute diarrhoea were included. Thirty-eight dogs were orally supplemented with AF while 34 dogs received a placebo. Dogs received the AF or placebo as a food additive at a median dosage of 1.6 g/kg once daily for 5 days. All dogs were fed highly digestible diets. Each dog's Bristol stool chart (BSC) score and number of defecations were recorded daily. In addition, their total duration of hospitalisation was recorded. RESULTS: The two groups were similar at baseline, with the exception that haematemesis at presentation was more common in the placebo group, and dogs treated with AF were significantly older than dogs treated with placebo. None of the tested outcome variables differed significantly between groups during the study period. LIMITATIONS: Dogs receiving AF were significantly older than dogs receiving the placebo, which may have affected the outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Adding AF to a highly digestible diet did not decrease BSC score, number of defecations per day or number of days of hospitalisation in dogs with acute diarrhoea in this study.