Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Sildenafil helps puppies with congenital megaesophagus gain weight
By Quintavalla, F et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2017·Department of Veterinary Science, Italy·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Sildenafil improves clinical signs and radiographic features in dogs with congenital idiopathic megaoesophagus: a randomised controlled trial.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 21 puppies with congenital idiopathic megaoesophagus (CIM), a condition that causes frequent regurgitation and difficulty gaining weight, were treated with sildenafil, a medication that helps improve muscle function. Over 14 days, the puppies receiving sildenafil had significantly fewer regurgitation episodes and gained more weight compared to those who received a placebo. The treatment also showed improvements in the dogs' esophageal function on X-rays. This suggests that sildenafil could be an effective option for managing CIM in dogs, helping them eat and gain weight more comfortably.
People also search for: puppy regurgitation treatment · congenital megaoesophagus in dogs · sildenafil for dogs weight gain
Abstract
We evaluated the efficacy of oral sildenafil citrate in dogs with congenital idiopathic megaoesophagus (CIM). Twenty-one puppies were randomly assigned to two groups (treatment and control). The dogs were given sildenafil oral suspension 1 mg/kg every 12 hours for 14 days or placebo in a masked fashion. Clinical signs (frequency of regurgitation and weight gain) and oesophagrams (relative oesophageal diameter, ROD) were evaluated in order to assess the efficacy of drug treatment, by examiners who were unaware of the study protocol. In addition, a set of in vitro experiments on isolated samples of canine lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) was performed, and the effects of increasing concentrations of sildenafil on basal tone and electrically-stimulated motility were assessed. Sildenafil administration significantly reduced the number of regurgitation episodes (0.88±1.40 v 2.65±1.56, P<0.0001) and significantly increased weight gain in the treated dogs compared to controls (79.76±28.30 per cent v 53.40±19.30 per cent, P=0.034). ROD values, at the end of the treatment period, were significantly decreased in the sildenafil group, compared to pre-treatment values (0.97±0.19 v 0.24±0.14, P<0.0001), in contrast to control subjects (0.98±0.17 v 1.10±0.25, P=0.480). In accordance with the in vivo findings, sildenafil dose-dependently reduced basal tone and increased electrically-induced relaxation of dog LOS samples. These results suggest that sildenafil citrate helps ameliorate clinical and radiographic signs in dogs with CIM by reducing LOS tone, and could represent a novel therapeutic tool for the treatment of this disease.
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/28188161/