Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Endoscopic aspiration for vomiting and diarrhea in pets
By Leib, M S et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·1999·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Endoscopic aspiration of intestinal contents in dogs and cats: 394 cases.
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs and cats with ongoing vomiting and diarrhea underwent a procedure called endoscopic aspiration to check for a parasite called Giardia. Out of 394 pets, only a few tested positive for Giardia, and many had already been treated with a common medication called metronidazole. The study suggests that this procedure is not usually helpful for diagnosing Giardia, especially if pets have already been treated or if other tests were done. However, it might still be useful for pets who haven't been tested for Giardia or haven't received metronidazole yet.
People also search for: dog vomiting treatment · cat diarrhea causes · Giardia in dogs treatment · endoscopy for pets · metronidazole for cats
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 on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10357107/