Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Electrolyte imbalances in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathies.
- Journal:
- Topics in companion animal medicine
- Year:
- 2022
- Authors:
- Heilmann, Romy M et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department for Small Animals · Germany
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
In dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathies (CIE), which is a type of inflammatory bowel disease, researchers found that imbalances in important minerals called electrolytes can occur. They looked at 37 dogs and discovered that low potassium levels were the most common issue, affecting about 19% of the dogs. Low sodium levels were less frequent, occurring in 14% of the cases, and were mostly seen in dogs that responded to immunosuppressant treatments. Some dogs also had low or high levels of chloride, another electrolyte. Overall, the study suggests that dogs with CIE can experience electrolyte imbalances similar to those seen in humans with inflammatory bowel disease, indicating that more research is needed to understand why this happens.
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in humans are associated with electrolyte shifts and diarrhea. Chronic inflammatory enteropathies (CIE) in dogs produce inflammatory lesions usually located more diffusely throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The prevalence of electrolyte imbalances in canine CIE is unknown. We retrospectively evaluated serum electrolyte (Na, Cl, corrected Cl, and K) concentrations in 37 dogs with CIE. Hypokalemia was the most frequent electrolyte abnormality, affecting 7 (19%) CIE dogs and with no difference between food-responsive and immunosuppressant-responsive (IRE) cases. Hyponatremia was less common (14%) and predominantly seen with IRE; serum Naconcentration correlated with the severity of diarrhea and duodenal histologic lesions. Hypo- (5%) and hyperchloridemia (11%) were also detected. Electrolyte imbalances occur with equal frequency in canine CIE and human IBD. Increased Ksecretion might exceed compromised Na/Clabsorption or Kshifts might be more pronounced in canine CIE. Therefore, the mechanisms underlying CIE-associated diarrhea warrant further research.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34710633/