Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Endoscopic aspiration of intestinal contents in dogs and cats: 394 cases.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary internal medicine
- Year:
- 1999
- Authors:
- Leib, M S et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences · United States
Plain-English summary
This study looked at the medical records of 394 dogs and cats that had a procedure called endoscopic aspiration, where doctors take samples from the intestines to check for a parasite called Giardia. The most common reasons for this procedure were chronic vomiting, chronic diarrhea, a combination of both, and acute vomiting. Out of all the samples taken, only six tested positive for Giardia, and in three cases, the parasite was found in stool tests before the procedure. The researchers suggest that this type of intestinal sampling is not usually helpful for finding Giardia and should not be done routinely, but it might be useful for pets that haven't had certain stool tests or haven't been treated with a specific medication called metronidazole. Overall, the treatment of intestinal aspiration rarely identified Giardia in these cases.
Abstract
Medical records from 394 dogs and cats that had endoscopic aspiration of intestinal contents for identification of Giardia sp. trophozoites were retrospectively reviewed. The most common indications for endoscopy were chronic vomiting (152), chronic diarrhea (108), chronic vomiting and diarrhea (58), and acute vomiting (33). Metronidazole had been previously administered to 111 animals (28.2%), and to 58.6% of those with chronic diarrhea. Six aspirate samples (1.5%) were positive for Giardia sp. In 3 of these cases a single fecal flotation identified Giardia cysts before endoscopy. The authors conclude that intestinal aspiration in animals from a primarily referral population undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy rarely identifies Giardia and should not be routinely performed. However, animals in which zinc sulfate flotation was not performed or those that did not previously receive metronidazole might benefit from intestinal aspiration.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10357107/