GASTROINTEROLOGY

Gastrointestinal clinical signs are a frequent reason for a visit to the veterinary surgeon.

Very often the clinical signs are not evident during the examination so the collection of the anamnesis is an essential part of the diagnosis, this information being provided by the owner himself.

The anamnestic information relates to signalling as some pathologies are typical of certain breeds or are more easily found in young animals (e.g. parasitosis or ingestion of foreign bodies), environment (urban or rural) or type of diet (industrial or homemade).

Initially, the aim of the examination must be to identify the real severity of the pathological processes at work so that risky clinical conditions (e.g. pancreatitis or hypoalbuminemia in the course of protein-dispersing enteropathies) can be managed in the best possible way.

The most common symptoms of diseases of the gastrointestinal system may concern the oesophagus (dysphagia, regurgitation), the stomach (vomiting) the small or large intestine (diarrhoea, flatulence, bloating, constipation, slimming).

The purpose of abdominal palpation is to localise areas of pain (e.g. cranial part of the abdomen during pancreatitis) or to perceive changes in volume or consistency of organs that can be seen, especially in cats or thin dogs.

Various patients may respond to a change in diet, the diagnosis of food allergy enteropathy being confirmed by dietary trials using hypoallergenic or highly digestible (hydrolysed protein) commercial diets, selected protein diets and home elimination diets as appropriate.

Once these initial evaluations have been carried out, blood tests can be performed to identify whether the problem relates directly to causes in the gastrointestinal system or outside (e.g. metabolic diseases or endocrinopathies) and instrumental diagnostic examinations (X-rays or ultrasound scans). In some cases, an endoscopic examination may also be requested (to be performed under general anaesthesia) to sample biopsy findings or extract foreign bodies.