G.I problem areas

Canine:When trying to diagnose a bile peritonitis what is the method of choice for making a diagnosis?

comparison between bilirubin concentration in the fluid and in the serum. A concentration of bilirubin that is twice as high as serum is considered diagnostic.

Canine:

Single solitary liver masses are generally considered a surgical disease as long there is no overt evidence of metastasis or concern that the mass is a metastatic lesion as opposed to a primary tumor arising from the liver. Primary liver masses include hepatomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, bile duct adenomas, bile duct carcinomas, and rarely, neuroendocrine tumors. Hepatocellular carcinomas are the most common liver tumor of dogs and second most common in cats. Adenomas will have a better prognosis, however hepatocellular carcinomas generally carry a good prognosis after surgical excision as well.

Bile duct carcinomas have a much more guarded prognosis with an average survival time of approximately 6 months. The prognosis for neuroendocrine tumors of the liver is poor.

Canine:A 10-week-old, intact male Australian Shepherd puppy presented to your clinic on Friday for his first vet visit following adoption from a reputable breeder the day before. Your colleague performed a physical exam, administered pyrantel pamoate, and gave the puppy his first distemper-parvo combination vaccine. (No fecal sample was available for evaluation.)

Monday morning, the puppy presents for having diarrhea with mucus since Friday evening. He is still playful and energetic, with a great appetite. Which of the following diagnostics should be performed first?

1. A.Giardia snap test

2. B.Fecal float

3. C.Baermann fecal examination

4. D.Fecal centrifugation

5. E.Fecal smear

The best answer to this question is to perform a fecal by centrifugation as the first step. Fecal centrifugation is the current standard and primary means for analysis of intestinal parasitism and should be performed several times on all pups during their first year of life and then every six months in adult dogs according to the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC).

The fecal centrifugation method has a much higher chance of egg retrieval and identification compared to passive fecal floats and fecal smears in saline, although the latter would be an appropriate secondary test to evaluate for motile Giardia trophozoites. However, because a negative fecal smear does not rule out giardiasis, a Giardia snap test is another secondary level test that could then be performed.

A fecal examination via the Baermann technique is one of the least likely diagnostics to be utilized because it is time- and labor-intensive, requires a relatively large amount of fecal material, and is not very sensitive (a negative test does not rule out infection because fecal shedding of larvae is intermittent).

Canine:

Which of these is the best measure of liver function in the dog from a routine chemistry panel?

1. A.Blood urea nitrogen (BUN)

2. B.Alkaline phosphatase (ALP)

3. C.Creatinine

4. D.Alanine aminotransferase (ALT)

The correct answer is blood urea nitrogen (BUN). ALT and ALP are liver enzymes and can indicate ongoing damage to the liver or cholestasis but do not tell you anything about liver function. Creatinine is produced by muscle and cleared by the kidney so it tells you nothing about liver function. Urea is produced by the liver and is one measure of liver function; it will be low in cases of liver failure. Other tests of liver function on a routine chemistry panel are cholesterol, glucose, bilirubin, and albumin. Bile acids also test liver function but are not on a routine chemistry panel. It is important to realize that in cases of end-stage liver failure, the liver function parameters will be affected, while frequently, liver enzymes will be normal.

Canine:

The best answer to this question is the dog is infected with a tapeworm species that is not susceptible to fenbendazole. While fenbendazole is effective against Taeniaspecies, it has no activity against the more common tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum, which requires praziquantel for treatment. The history and the owner's diligence make the likelihood that the dog is still encountering fleas and being reinfected with tapeworms very low. There is no known emergence of resistance to fenbendazole in formerly susceptible tapeworm species, and there is no other currently known canine parasite that presents with the classic "grain of rice" description.

Canine:When performing an enterotomy in a dog it is best to cut on the ________.

The correct answer is antimesenteric border. Cutting on this part of the intestine will minimize the likelihood of hitting blood vessels and will thus decrease the chances of bleeding. This is true for most species, not just dogs.

Canine:The most common vascular ring anomaly resulting in constriction of the esophagus in dogs is a ________.

persistent right 4th aortic arch. The left 5th aortic arch involutes with development. The left 6th aortic arch becomes the left pulmonary artery and ligamentum arteriosum. The right 3rd aortic arch becomes the right internal carotid.

Canine:What should you suspect in an animal if there is poor serosal detail on an abdominal radiograph?

The correct answer is ascites. Abdominal fluid accumulation leads to blurring of serosal detail as the fluid in the abdomen has similar radiodensity to soft tissue in the abdomen. Air and fat usually enhance abdominal serosal detail.

Canine:

dog presents with acute onset vomiting, hemorrhagic diarrhea and fever. On fecal examination, you find many large fluke eggs. You question the owner and discover that the dog was recently in Oregon on a boating trip. What agent is most likely causing the clinical signs in this dog?

1. A.Oxytrema silicula

2. B.Nanophyetus salmincola

3. C.Rickettsia rickettsii

4. D.Neorickettsia helminthoeca

The correct answer is Neorickettsia helminthoeca. This rickettsial organism is the causative agent of salmon poisoning. It is carried in the fluke, Nanophyetus salmincola, which requires the snail, Oxytrema silicula in its life cycle. The snail is what confines occurrence of salmon poisoning to the northwest coast.

Canine: