Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Chyloabdomen in dogs and cats: signs, tests, and outcomes
By Hatch, Alex et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2018·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Incidence of chyloabdomen diagnosis in dogs and cats and corresponding clinical signs, clinicopathologic test results, and outcomes: 53 cases (1984-2014).
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old Labrador was diagnosed with chyloabdomen, a condition where lymphatic fluid accumulates in the abdomen, after showing signs of lethargy and not wanting to eat. The study reviewed cases from a veterinary hospital and found that many pets with this condition also had fluid in their chest and often had serious underlying issues like cancer. The average survival time after diagnosis was about 31 days, but pets without cancer lived longer, averaging 73 days. Treatment options and outcomes varied widely depending on the underlying cause of the chyloabdomen.
People also search for: dog lethargy and not eating · chyloabdomen in dogs · dog abdominal swelling treatment · Labrador cancer symptoms · dog fluid in abdomen causes
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of chyloabdomen diagnosis in cats and dogs and characterize and compare between species the corresponding clinical signs, clinicopathologic test results, and outcomes. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 36 cats and 17 dogs in which chyloabdomen was diagnosed at a veterinary teaching hospital between 1984 and 2014. PROCEDURES Medical records were reviewed, and data retrieved included patient signalment; clinical signs at initial evaluation; results of physical examination, diagnostic tests, and imaging studies; and outcomes. Survival analyses, descriptive statistics, and comparisons between species were completed. RESULTS The incidence of chyloabdomen at the veterinary teaching hospital during the study period was 2.0 cases/100,000 admissions for cats and 2.8 cases/100,000 admissions for dogs. The mean age at diagnosis of chyloabdomen in cats was 11.3 years, compared with 6.9 years in dogs. The most common clinical signs in dogs and cats combined were lethargy (39/51 [76%]) and anorexia (37/51 [73%]), but fewer (23/53 [43%]) had abdominal distention. Chylothorax was a common comorbidity (25/53 [47%]), with malignant neoplasia being the most common underlying diagnosis (24/53 [45%]). Survival analyses included 44 patients; median survival time from diagnosis of chyloabdomen was 31 days overall, 8 days for patients with malignant neoplasia, and 73 days for patients without neoplasia. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE There were multiple causes of chyloabdomen in dogs and cats of the study, and outcome depended on underlying cause. Because of this and the rarity of chyloabdomen, a multicenter prospective study of disease progression, treatment response, and clinical outcome for dogs and cats with chyloabdomen is needed.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30211644/