Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ileum changes and low vitamin B12 in dogs with chronic gut
By Pérez-Merino, Eva M et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2022·Department of Animal Medicine, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Relationship between serum cobalamin concentration and endoscopic ileal appearance and histology in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 68 dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE) had their ileal (part of the intestine) appearance and tissue examined to see how it related to their vitamin B12 (cobalamin) levels. The study found that dogs with very low cobalamin levels showed more severe intestinal damage compared to those with normal levels. Specifically, signs like villus atrophy and epithelial injury were more common in dogs with low cobalamin. This suggests that monitoring cobalamin levels in dogs with CIE could help assess the severity of their intestinal condition and guide treatment.
People also search for: dog chronic inflammatory enteropathy symptoms · low vitamin B12 in dogs treatment · dog intestinal health and cobalamin levels
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It has not been determined whether ileal appearance differs among dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE) and different serum concentrations of cobalamin. OBJECTIVE: To compare endoscopic and histologic ileal findings in dogs with CIE and different serum cobalamin concentrations and then evaluate the correlation of ileal changes to cobalamin serum concentration using updated scoring systems to assess the ileum. ANIMALS: Sixty-eight dogs with CIE. METHODS: Retrospective study. Frequency of ileal features and ileal histologic and endoscopic scores (IHS and IES) were obtained and compared among CIE dogs with severe hypocobalaminemia (SHC; <200 ng/L), hypocobalaminemia (HC; 200-350 ng/L), or normocobalaminemia (NC; >350 ng/L). The correlation of IHS and IES with cobalamin was evaluated. RESULTS: Friability, villus atrophy, crypt dilatation, epithelial injury, and intraepithelial lymphocytes were more frequent in SHC than in NC dogs (all P ≤ .01). Median SHC-IES (2; range, 0-4) was higher than NC-IES (1; range, 0-5; P = .004). Median SHC-IHS (6; range, 3-9) was higher than HC-IHS (4; range, 1-7; P < .001) and NC-IHS (3; range, 1-8; P < .001). Cobalamin concentration correlated negatively with IES (ρ = -.34, P = .005) and IHS (ρ = -.58, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Ileal features and involvement degree markedly differed when cobalamin was <200 or >350 ng/L in CIE dogs. With updated scales to assess the mucosa, greater ileal damage was associated with lower serum cobalamin concentration.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35475525/