Pancreatitis in canines is the inflammation of the pancreas that can lead to significant health issues due to enzyme leakage. Risk factors include a high-fat diet, obesity, and certain diseases, with symptoms like vomiting, lethargy, and abdominal pain. Diagnosis involves physical exams and tests, while treatment may require hospitalization, fluid therapy, and a low-fat diet, with varied prognoses depending on severity.

1. Pancreatitis in Canines

2. What is Pancreatitis?
• Pancreatitis- is the inflammation of the
pancreas.
– The pancreas is a digestive organ that is
responsible for secreting enzymes into
the digestive system to digest fat,
carbohydrates, and proteins.
– During inflammation of the pancreas,
these enzymes can leak and cause
damage to the pancreas or surrounding
tissue

3. Risk Factors
• In many cases, the causes of pancreatitis are unknown,
but there are things that can increase the risk of it
developing
– Eating human food or garbage
• High fat foods
– Obesity
– Liver disease
– Small intestine disease
– Adrenal gland disease
– May develop after abdominal trauma or surgery
– Most common in middle-aged to older dogs

4. Symptoms
• Severe lethargy
• Vomiting
• Dehydration
• Abdominal pain
• Fever
• Icterus- yellow coloring of skin and whites of the
eyes

5. Diagnostics
• Physical exam
• History
• Radiographs and routine blood tests maybe required to
rule out other diseases
• Specialized test
– Canine pancreas-specific lipase test (cPL)
• Abnormal test may suggest Pancreatitis
• An abdominal ultrasound to confirm inflammation of the
pancreas

6. Treatment
• Hospitalization
• Fluid therapy
• Medications for vomiting and
pain
• Diet change
–Lower fat content food

7. Prognosis
• Good for most patients
• Guarded prognosis with severe
pancreatitis and systemic conditions
–Death may occur in severe cases
• Can be difficult to predict

8. Example of Pancreatitis
• “Lucy”
– Mixed breed canine, spayed female, 6 years old
• History
– Owner was awoken by Lucy
– Lucy was shaking and panting. She was not acting herself and
vomited once
– No diarrhea and not wanting to eat or drink
– The owner said she had fed her a few french fries last night

9. “Lucy”
• Physical exam
– Unremarkable exam. Lucy is overweight and has mild to moderate dental tartar
– Recommend radiographs, blood work, and a cPL test (Canine Pancreas-specific
Lipase)
• Diagnostics
– Radiographs: One view showed abnormal ingesta in stomach, but not seen in other
views. Decided to retake radiographs 8-12 hours later
• Second set of radiographs showed no signs of material in the stomach
– Blood work: Leukocytosis (high white blood cells), slight hyperglycemia (high
glucose), and hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol)
– cPL- Abnormal

10. “Lucy”
• Treatment
–Fluid therapy
–Anti-vomiting medication
–Hospitalization
–Pain management
–Bland diet

11. “Lucy”
• Lucy improved on fluids, medication, and began to
eat chicken
• The second radiographs showed no signs of
abnormal material in the stomach
• The exact cause of symptoms is uncertain, but
suspected acute pancreatitis
• Lucy was sent home and started on a low fat diet
after 3-5 days of a bland diet

12. Conclusion
• Pancreatitis is a difficult disease to
diagnose, predict, and prevent
• It is extremely important to immediately
contact your veterinarian or emergency
services if your pet exhibits abnormal
behavior or symptoms