Pancreatitis in Our Pets

by Dr. McDonald

What a wonderful name for a nasty disease! The pancreas is a very delicate organ located next to the stomach in humans and animals. This organ does two main functions in our pets. First, the output of insulin controls blood sugar.

Secondly, this organ secretes digestive juices so that the food can be broken down into small enough molecules to pass into our blood stream. Moment by moment this tiny little organ keeps us from sinking into a coma from high or low blood sugar and is providing us with food energy to go about our day. So when this organ becomes diseased it creates a very sick animal.

What are the signs of an inflamed pancreas? Since this impacts the GI system, the first signs are related to diet. The abdomen is painful to the touch and the animal is nauseated. If you notice that the animal is not interested in food, begins to vomit and experiences diarrhea he may have pancreatitis. Some of these cases are so severe that the animal can go into shock and even die of complications of the disease.

As a veterinarian, when we suspect pancreatitis, we need to confirm our diagnosis with X-Rays, blood work and sometimes an abdominal ultrasound. X-Rays can rule out other sources of vomiting such as tumors and foreign body obstructions, but can also confirm inflammation in the area of the pancreas. In the blood work a classical case will have elevation in the Lipase and Amylase. The distribution of the white cells and red cell counts can support the diagnosis and give insight to the severity of the case. An abdominal ultrasound is much more specific and can determine if there are major changes in the body of the pancreas such as tumors or hemorrhage.

Great! Now your veterinarian has diagnosed pancreatitis. Now how do you treat it and prevent it in the future? The primary treatment is resting the GI system. This may involve hospitalization and IV fluids in order to maintain hydration and control vomiting. Your veterinarian may want to use antibiotics, anti inflammatories and pain medicine during the first stages of the treatment. Some of the mild cases can be maintained at home on diet control and restricted intake of food and water. This should only be done with the direction of your veterinarian as some animals can become dehydrated and even become sicker if water restriction is instituted in an animal who is already dehydrated. Your veterinarian will want to modify the diet as the animal recovers. There are several diets that are on the market that are designed to treat this disease.

Now comes the most difficult part of the disease. Most veterinarians feel that this is a disease that cannot be cured. Once diseased, the pancreas is just waiting for a second chance to make the animal sick. So we feel that a life time of diet control is in order to prevent the animal from having more episodes of pancreatitis. High fatty meals and sudden changes in diet seem to provoke the disease and are discouraged by most veterinarians. Sometimes a prescription diet can be used to prevent outbreaks and if used as the sole source of food usually controls the disease in most animals.

There are many causes of pancreatitis. Infection, trauma, cancer, and diet can all create this disease. The nature of dogs is to eat all the horrible stuff they find predisposes them to have this disease much more than cats.

Now for the most important part of this article: PREVENTION. Some forms of pancreatitis cannot be avoided. The infective and the cancerous forms cannot be prevented. Diet control is the key to control. Never change the animals' diet suddenly. If you decide to change the diet, do so over a week's time adding small amounts of the new diet to the old diet as you slowly decrease the amount of the old diet. It is always best to consult your veterinarian if you are thinking of a diet change. A person with a PhD in nutrition could not make a good decision based on the label of the animal diets. The quality of the ingredients is only as good as the company that manufactures the food. Veterinarians are most concerned with the health of the animal and have experience in the major brands of dog food. Prevent your dog from ingesting all that he or she finds on a walk.

As with most diseases, early detection and treatment always gives the best prognosis and that is especially true with pancreatitis. Watch your animals for signs of the disease and prevent indiscriminate eating and you can avoid the veterinary bills, as well as the carpet cleaning expense and especially the pain and suffering of your pet.

Dr. McDonald practices at McDonald Animal Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA