Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Evidence on treatments for extrahepatic portosystemic shunts in dogs
By Tivers, M S et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2012·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Treatment of extrahepatic congenital portosystemic shunts in dogs - what is the evidence base?
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with a congenital portosystemic shunt (a condition where blood bypasses the liver) may show symptoms like poor growth, vomiting, or neurological issues. Various surgical and medical treatments are available, but a review of studies found that while surgery generally leads to longer survival compared to medical management, there isn't enough strong evidence to say which specific treatment works best. The outcomes from different surgical techniques were similar, indicating that more research is needed to determine the most effective approach.
People also search for: dog portosystemic shunt treatment · symptoms of liver problems in dogs · surgical options for dog CPSS
Abstract
A variety of surgical treatments and medical therapies are recommended for dogs with extrahepatic congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSS). The objective of this review was to assess the evidence base for the management of extrahepatic CPSS in dogs. An online bibliographic search was performed in November 2010 to identify articles relating to the question "Which of the treatment options for extrahepatic CPSS in dogs offers the best short- and long-term outcomes?" Articles were assigned a level of evidence based on a modified grading system. Thirty-eight articles were included in the review. Thirty-six articles were classified as grade 4 and two as grade 5. The timings and methods of assessment of short- and long-term outcomes varied widely between studies. One prospective study (grade 4a) showed that surgically treated dogs survived significantly longer than medically treated dogs. Four retrospective studies (grade 4b) compared the outcome of two surgical techniques but there were no statistically significant differences between treatment groups in terms of complications or outcome. The review found that the evidence base for the treatment of extrahepatic CPSS is weak. There is a lack of evidence of short- and long-term outcomes to recommend one treatment over another.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22098116/