Diarrhea/Vomiting 1 (Eddie) Flashcards
Give an example of a GI cause of diarrhea and vomiting.
Foreign body
Give an example of an inflammatory cause of vomiting and diarrhea
Intestinal parasites
Give an example of an infectious cause of vomiting and diarrhea.
Parvovirus
Give an example of an immune mediated cause of vomiting and diarrhea.
IBD
Give an example of a toxin/drug that causes vomiting and diarrhea.
Antibiotics
Give an example of of an extraintestinal cause of vomiting and diarrhea.
Liver disease
Give an example of a noninflammatory cause of vomiting and diarrhea.
Motility disorders
Give an example of a noninfectious cause of vomiting and diarrhea.
Dietary sensitivity
Give an example of a neoplasm that might cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Adenocarninomas
Give an example of a congenital cause of vomiting and diarrhea.
Exocrine pancreas insufficiency
What things should be included in your initial diagnostic plan for an animal that presents for vomiting and diarrhea?
- Good history
- Good PE (including abdominal palpation)
- CBC
- Fecal
- Chemistry
- Urinalysis
- Abdominal radiographs
- Feline = T3/T4, FeLV/FIV
What additional diagnostic testing might you consider for an animal that presents with vomiting and diarrhea?
- Barium study
- Molecular diagnostics (giardia, crypto, campy)
- Abdominal ultrasound
- GI panel
- Endoscopy and biopsy
- Advanced imaging (MRI, CT)
- Abdominal exploratory
What types of supportive care can we give to an animal that is having vomiting and diarrhea?
Correct dehydration, electrolyte abnormalities, and meet dietary needs
What can you do first to try to eliminate some things from your DDx list?
Determine if the problem is acute or chronic, determine if you are dealing with GI vs. extraintestinal disease
T/F: All adverse food reactions that cause diarrhea are hypersensitivity reactions.
False;
Can be due to lactose intolerance
What does TLI measure?
Exocrine pancreatic function testing (i.e to diagnose EPI)
If LOW, diagnostic of EPI
If HIGH could be a sign of pancreatitis but need to do a PLI to confirm
What does cobalamin measure and what is another name for it?
AKA Vitamin B12; Tests small intestinal function
If LOW, can be diagnostic of EPI, bacterial overgrowth in the upper small intestine, or disease affecting the distal small intestine
What does folate measure?
Small intestinal function along with cobalamin
If LOW can be diagnostic of disease affecting the proximal small intestine
If HIGH can be diagnostic of bacterial overgrowth in the upper small intestine
What does feline PLI measure?
Diagnosis of pancreatitis;
Marked elevation (>5.3 in cats, >399 in dogs) = consistent with pancreatitis
What is abdominal ultrasound useful for in vomiting/diarrhea cases?
- Establishing GI disease
- Looking for intestinal changes (i.e. wall thickness)
- Identifying changes in other abdominal organs (liver, kidney, LNs, etc.)
What can increased thickness of intestinal walls indicate?
Infiltration into mucosa, inflammation, neoplasm
What are two ways to take biopsies?
Excisional or punch biopsies
What are advantages of doing an excisional biopsy? Disadvantages?
Advantages = fewer sections to evaluate, tissue architecture intact, includes intestinal wall
Disadvantages = invasive (exploratory), more tissue to evaluate, dependent on operator expertise
What are advantages to doing a punch biopsy? Disadvantages?
Advantages = Less invasive, endoscopy
Disadvantages = more sections to evaluate, tissue can be scant, architecture often destroyed, dependent on operator expertise
What are two types of endoscopy?
Wired and wireless
What are potential types of chronic inflammatory enteropathy?
- Non-specific mucosal inflammation (lymphoplasmacytic enteritis/colitis, eosinophilic enteritis)
- IBD
- Dysbiosis (alteration of microbiota)
- Adverse food reaction (dietary sensitivity)
- Enteric pathogens: fungal, bacterial, protozoal
- Clinical response to therapies (food responsive enteropathy, antibiotic responsive enteropathy)
What is the pathology of IBD in cats and dogs?
It is unknown
