doiSerbia

Intestinal lymphangiectasia in dogs, challenging diagnosis: Four cases

Davitkov Darko (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Equine, Small Аnimal, Poultry and Wild Animal Diseases, Belgrade)
Vasiljević Maja (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Equine, Small Аnimal, Poultry and Wild Animal Diseases, Belgrade)
Davitkov Dajana (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biology, Belgrade)
Božović-Ilić Anja (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Equine, Small Аnimal, Poultry and Wild Animal Diseases, Belgrade)
Đorđević Milena (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Belgrade)
Krstić Vanja (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Equine, Small Аnimal, Poultry and Wild Animal Diseases, Belgrade)

Intestinal lymphangiectasia is an uncommon disease which can cause severe, chronic protein-losing enteropathy in dogs. Four dogs were presented at the Belgrade Clinic for Small Animals with clinical signs of chronic diarrhea, lethargy, anorexia, vomiting and weight loss. Abnormal physical examination findings included dehydration, signs of pain on abdominal palpation, and ascites. The most important clinicopathological findings were lymphopenia and hypoproteinemia with hypoalbuminemia. Abdominal ultrasound revealed intestinal abnormalities in all dogs. To establish an undoubted diagnosis of intestinal lymphangiectasia, endoscopy and histopathology were conducted.

Keywords: diagnosis, dogs, lymphangiectasia, protein-losing enteropathy

Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. III46002