Acute Vomiting and Diarrhea Flashcards
Obj: For Idiopathic diseases:
- Identify disease risk factors
- Distinguish between idiopathic and infectious disease based on common laboratory and examination findings
- Develop a treatment plan based on severity of clinical signs and etiology of disease, including the need for hospitalization and appropriate ancillary therapies
Obj: For Infectious diseases:
- List major routes of transmission, tissues affected, SI/LI clinical signs
- Based on a case scenario, prioritize differentials based on the above and unique systemic or laboratory findings and choose the best diagnostic test
- For a specific patient, decide whether treatment is needed and formulate a treatment plan
What are some of the common Idiopathic Acute GI diseases of small animals?
- Acute Gastroenteritis
- Acute Hemorrhagic Diarrhea Syndrome (AHDS)
- Parasitic:
- Toxocara infection
- Hookworm infection
- Whipworms
- Viral
- Canine Enteric Parvovirus
- Feline Panleukopenia
- Canine Distemper
- Bacterial
- Neoricettsia Helminotheca
- Campylobacter
- Salmonella
What is Acute Gastroenteritis?
- Acute Vomiting due to sudden gastric mucosal irritation or inflammation
- Exact underlying trigger is often unknown
- Proposed causes: Dietary indiscretion, foreign material, drugs/toxins
How is Acute Gastroenteritis Diagnosed?
- Rule out obstruction, surgical conditions, infectious, and systemic disease based on patient clinical signs and physical examination
- Lab work:
- Assessment of hydration (PCV/TS)
- +/- complete blood work if severe signs
- Radiographs, patient-dependent
What is the Treatment for Acute Gastroenteritis?
- Supportive based on severity of clinical signs and examination
- Outpatient:
- Anti-emetics (one dose)
- Easily digestible (low-fat) diet
- offered in small amounts every 4-6hrs
- Transition back to normal diet over 5-7 days once clinical signs resolved
- +/- Subcutaneous fluids
- Inpatient
- IV fluids
- Anti-emetics
- Easily digestible (low-fat) diet
- Ancillary therapies:
- Probiotics
- Fiber supplementation
What is Acute Hemorrhagic Diarrhea Syndrome (AHDS)?
- Syndrome of acute onset, severe bloody diarrhea +/- vomiting
- Associated with increased GI permeability
What is the pathophysiology of AHDS?
- Incompletely understood
- Potential predisposing factors include:
- Dietary Type 1 hypersensitivity reaction
-
Clostridium toxins (enterotoxin, NetF)
- Normal flora, most animals are asymptomatic
- Not all dogs w/ AHDS are positive for NetF toxin
- finding NetF does not confirm it as cause of disease
- Even in dogs with AHDS, presence of NetF toxin does not confirm the need for antimicrobials
- Diagnosis of Clostridium - fecal culture + toxin PCR in a symptomatic patient.
- fecal smears for Clostridia spores should not be performed
- do not correlate with toxin production
- fecal smears for Clostridia spores should not be performed
- Gastrointestinal microbiome dysbiosis
What are the clinical signs of AHDS?
- Severe, bloody diarrhea (hematochezia)
- +/- vomiting, hematemesis
- Hypovolemic shock if not treated early
How is AHDS diagnosed?
- Diagnosis of exclusion
- Blood work:
- Severe hemoconcentration with normal total protein
- Thrombocytopenia 50%
- Leukopenia, neutropenia if progression to sepsis/DIC
- Prolonged clotting times if progression to DIC
- Blood pressure: hypotension due to hypovolemia
- Abdominal radiographs - normal or diffuse ileus
How is AHDS treated?
- Intensive IV Fluid Therapy
- Antibiotics NOT needed unless signs of systemic inflammation/sepsis
- Leukopenia, degenerative left shift
- Fever >103F
- Non-responsive hypotension or hyppoglycemia
- Coagulopathy
What species round worms can cause acute vomiting/diarrhea?
- Toxocara canis - dogs
- Toxascaris leonina - dogs, cats
- Toxocara cati - cats
How are roundworms transmitted?
- T. canis: Placental, milk/nursing, ingestion of ova-contaminated material or infected paratenic hosts (rodents)
- T. cati: milk/nursing, ingestion of ova-contaminated material or infected paratenic hosts (rodents)
What are the clinical signs of an acute roundworm infection?
- Usually young animals
- Small Intestinal Diarrhea
- Non-specific:
- Weight loss
- failure to thrive
- poor haircoat
- pot-belly
How are roundworm infections diagnosed?
- Fecal flotation
How is a roundworm infection treated?
- Deworm at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age
What species of hookworms cause acute vomiting/diarrhea in Small Animals?
- Ancylostoma caninum - dogs
- Ancylostoma tubaeformae - Cat
- Ancylostoma braziliense - Dog
- Uncinaria stenocephala - Dogs
How are hookworms transmitted?
- In utero
- nursing
- ingestion of larvae
- skin penetration by larvae
- ingestion of paratenic host
What are the clinical signs of a hookworm infection?
- Hemorrhagic diarrhea - can be acute & severe
- Vomiting
- Anemia and panhypoproteinemia with severe infections
- Clinical disease rare in cats
How are hookworm infections diagnosed?
- fecal floatation
How are hookworm infections treated?
- Resistant infections have been noted, with subsequent response to combination therapy,
- Monthly topical moxidectin + pyrantel/febantel/praziquantel until negative fecal tests are achieved
what species of whipworms can cause Acute vomiting/diarrhea in small animals
- Trichuris vulpis - dogs
How are whipworms transmitted?
fecal-oral