Weight loss Flashcards
Weight loss problems
Muscle atrophy
Caloric intake insufficient for life stage/ activity level
Poor growth as problem
Small for age
Failure to reach market weight
Failure to gain weight
Weight loss due to ↓ appetite (Can’t eat)
Dysphagia
Difficulties in prehension, mastication and swallowing
Disorders of the mouth and pharynx (neoplasias, foreign objects, ulcerated lesions)
Weight loss due to ↓ appetite (won’t eat)
Loss of smell
Picky
True anorexia (hyporexia= inappetance)
Anorexia
Feeding-satiety centres- hypothalamus
Influenced by blood glucose levels, body temp, metabolic products, neural input from GIT, substances released by neoplasia and psychic factors
CNS causing anorexia
Secondary causes more common
Anorexia can be the only early manifestation of CNS disease
Stress factors causing anorexia
Separation anxiety
New baby/ pet
Change in environment or routine
Loss of owner/ companion
Causes of anorexia
Endogenous or exogenous toxins
Pyrexia
Electrolyte disturbance
hepatic disease
Neoplasia
Psychic factors
Primary CNS disease
Weight loss with a normal or ↑ appetite
Malassimilation (maldigestion + malabsoprtion)- feces altered
Malutilisation
Malabsorption of nutrients
Nutrients digested normally but absorption in the SI impaired
Due to structural disease of SI (primary or metabolic disease making absorption difficult)
Malabsoprtion- Primary GI
Infiltrative diseases of the SI wall include IBD, GI lymphoma, intestinal parasites, lymphangiestasia, severe SI bacterial overgrowth, FIP, systemic mycoses
CS of primary malabsorption
WL: normal or ↑ / ↓ or capricious
Diarrhea: slight to severe, small bowel in K9s and cats
Coprophagia (dogs)
CS of primary malabsorption of horses
WL: normal or ↑ appetite
Diarrhea: infiltrative disease of LI
Dependent edema due to protein losing enteropathy
Recurrent colic
Malabsorption from secondary GI disease
Hepatic disease (bile acids)
right sided cardiac disease
Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism
Speed of transit of food through gut ↑ → less time for absorption
Weight loss due to↑ metabolic rate
Maldigestion
Normal digestion is impaired
Causes of maldigestion
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
Secondary enzyme deficiency
Deficiency of bile acid
Loss of brush border enzymes
Malutilisation
Nutrients digested and absorbed normally but utilized abnormally by the body or lost
Malutilization with normal or ↑ appetite
Diabetes mellitus
CHF
Dirofilariasis
Neoplasia
Hyperthyroidism
Protein losing enteropathy in cats
Liver disease
Renal disease (protein losing nephropathy, tuber disease)
Malutilisation with ↑ appetite
Diabetes mellitus
Neoplasia
Hyperthryroidism
Liver disease
