Upgrade of the diagnosis and treatment of the canine acute pancreatitis

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition, its causes and pathophysiology are poorly understood. This review focuses on updating the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. In general, premature activation of pan- creatic enzymes leads to the onset of pancreatitis, while the inflammatory response promotes disease progression and systemic complications, it is associated with possible risk factors such as food indiscretions, racial predisposition, and use of certain drugs or concomitant diseases. It usually presents nonspecific clinical signs, so it is important to have an adequate clinical examination and the combination of complementary methods, with ultrasound and canine pancreatic lipase immuno reactivity test being the highly specific methods for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. The use of certain serum markers and high-technology equip- ment is very useful in the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease, but its use is variable due to its availability, costs, and the patient’s own conditions. The treatment is mainly based on adequate fluid therapy, proper pain management, antiemetics and nutritional management.