Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Successful treatment of ascites accumulation and diarrhea associated with protein-losing enteropathy with oral equine placenta extract supplementation in a dog: A case report.
- Journal:
- Open veterinary journal
- Year:
- 2022
- Authors:
- Fukushima, Naoki et al.
- Affiliation:
- Panda Animal Hospital · Japan
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A veterinarian treated an 8-year-old female Chihuahua who had been suffering from diarrhea and fluid buildup in her abdomen for two weeks. She was diagnosed with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), a condition where proteins leak from the blood into the intestines, leading to low protein levels. Initially, she was given medications, but her symptoms didn't improve and she developed liver damage. After adjusting her medications and adding a supplement made from equine placenta, her diarrhea and fluid buildup resolved, and she has not had any further issues since. This case suggests that using equine placenta extract can be a helpful addition to treatment for dogs with PLE.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is characterized by leakage of serum proteins into the intestinal lumen, indicating hypoproteinemia. Immunosuppressive agents are the mainstay of treatment, but in many cases, patients are forced to taper off early owing to the induction of liver damage. CASE DESCRIPTION: An 8-year-old, non-spayed female Chihuahua presented with diarrhea and ascites effusion lasting 2 weeks. Based on the results of radiography and blood tests, a diagnosis of PLE was made. Prednisolone (3 mg/kg[SID]) and MitoMax (200 mg/day) were administered, but ascites accumulation and diarrhea did not improve. Thus, azathioprine (2 mg/kg/day) was added, but there was no improvement, and liver damage developed. The liver injury did not improve immediately, but diarrhea and ascites effusion improved after serum total protein and serum albumin levels increased after they had decreased. Subsequent tapering of prednisolone from 3 mg/kg SID to 1 mg/kg SID, combined with MitoMax (200 mg/day) and equine placenta extract (eqPE) (2 ml/day), resulted in no recurrence of ascites or diarrhea. CONCLUSION: In canine PLE with prolonged diarrhea and ascites effusion, supplementation with eqPE may be considered a reasonable additional therapeutic strategy.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36589412/