London Vet Show with Natalie

The London Vet Show (LVS) is an annual event held over two days where there are a range of speakers and exhibitors covering all aspects of veterinary medicine: large, small, equine and exotic! With a keen interest in internal medicine, Natalie spent her time at LVS attending lectures covering management of some of the more complicated conditions that we will frequently have to deal with here at Westport Veterinary Clinic in Linlithgow.

Pancreatitis was a popular topic covered by one of the main guest lecturers at the event, Professor Caroline Mansfield. Let’s take a brief overview at some key steps in the management of this condition.

Pancreatitis affects both cats and dogs despite having subtle differences in their gastric anatomy.

Presentation is not always as clear cut as Doctor Google may lead you to believe. Some patients will present with acute gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting and diarrheoa (frequently haemorrhagic), whilst others will have very vague and often intermittent signs such as loss of appetite, soft stools and being “grumpy” due to abdominal pain over a number of weeks.Initial assessment by your vet with a full physical examination alongside a detailed history may help aid the diagnosis but ultimately blood work and imaging is required to provide a diagnosis of pancreatitis.

Management of patients with pancreatitis usually requires hospitalisation for intravenous fluid therapy (IVFT), along with medications to combat abdominal pain and nausea. Very severe cases may require assisted feeding by placement of feeding tubes. We offer placement of either nasogastric or esophageal feeding tubes for such cases here at Westport. Treatment over a 48-72 hours period is very common, however some cases may require longer term hospitalisation especially if they have a concurrent medical condition (eg. diabetes mellitus). Some patients may require a course of oral pain relief, anti-sickness and appetite stimulants for a number of weeks, others may have to remain on a veterinary prescribed diet once discharged home - this is more common in dogs.

There is no clear cut treatment plan for a typical case of pancreatitis because there is no such thing as a “typical case”.