Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Signs and treatment of pancreatic insufficiency in 150 cats
By P. Xenoulis et al.·Published in Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine·2016·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Feline Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency: A Retrospective Study of 150 Cases
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old cat was diagnosed with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), which caused symptoms like weight loss, poor appetite, and unformed feces. After treatment, including cobalamin (a vitamin) supplementation, about 60% of the cats showed a good response, while some had partial improvement. The study found that cats with low levels of a specific enzyme (trypsin) were more likely to respond well to treatment. Overall, most cats with EPI can improve significantly with the right care, especially when cobalamin is included in their treatment plan.
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Abstract
Background Little information is available about the clinical presentation and response to treatment of cats with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). Objectives To describe the signalment, clinical signs, concurrent diseases, and response to treatment of cats with EPI. Animals One hundred and fifty cats with EPI. Methods Retrospective case series. Results Questionnaires were sent to 261 veterinarians, and 150 (57%) were returned with data suitable for statistical analysis. The median age of the cats with EPI was 7.7 years. The median body condition score was 3 of 9. Ninety‐two of 119 cats (77%) had hypocobalaminemia, and 56 of 119 cats (47%) had increased and 6 of 119 cats (5%) had decreased serum folate concentrations. Clinical signs included weight loss (91%), unformed feces (62%), poor hair coat (50%), anorexia (45%), increased appetite (42%), lethargy (40%), watery diarrhea (28%), and vomiting (19%). Eighty‐seven cats (58%) had concurrent diseases. Treatment response was reported to be good in 60%, partial in 27%, and poor in 13% of 121 cats. Trypsin‐like immunoreactivity <4 μg/L was associated with a positive response to treatment (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.5–7.0; P = .004). Also, cobalamin supplementation improved the response to treatment (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.4–6.6; P = .006). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in cats often has a different clinical presentation than in dogs. The age range for EPI in cats is wide, and many cats can be ≤5 years of age. Most cats respond well to appropriate treatment for EPI, and cobalamin supplementation appears to be necessary for a good response.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/27641602