Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in a Dog: Case Report

Abstract

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is a gastrointestinal illness marked by insufficient production of digestive enzymes by pancreatic acini, resulting in signs of poor digestion, malabsorption and malnutrition. It is considered less common in small animals’ clinical routine, being more diagnosed in female dogs of the German Shepard, Collie and Cavalier breeds due to genetic predisposition. Therefore, it is reported in this work a case of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in a male French bulldog. The animal was treated in a private clinic in São Paulo-SP with the main complaint of weight loss, appetite disorders (polyphagia, coprophagy, and abnormal appetite), steatorrhea and flatulence. The serum trypsin-like immunoreactivity test in conjunction with ventral ultrasound has confirmed the diagnosis. Treatment based on enzyme replacement with pancreatin, antibiotic therapy, gastric protection, and vitamin supplementation and diet changes proved to be totally effective after thirty days, because the animal showed significant weight gain, normorexy, normal defecation and improvement of other clinical signs.