Vol. 11, Special Issue 11 (2022)

Author(s):
Padhi Pratibha, Patra RC, Senapati SK, Panda Sonali, Das DP and Biswal Sangram

Abstract:
Ascites, a multi-etiological disease, is characterized by distension of abdomen, poor appetite and lethargy. Lack of adequate literature on etiopathology and clinico-pathological alterations in ascites in dogs possesses serious problem for management of the disease. The present study was conducted on owned dogs with distension of abdomen to study the prevalence of the disease with respect to primary organ involvement in the pathogenesis of ascites, and hematological and biochemical changes and the efficacy of therapeutic management. The ascetic dogs were grouped into causative types; heart-related, liver-related, or dogs with both heart and liver involvement, kidney-related and others on the basis of clinical symptoms, physical examination findings, and radiography and haemato-biochemical studies. The affected dogs were treated with drugs depending on the cause of the disease along with supportive drugs. Twelve apparently healthy dogs were recruited for the study to serve as controls. The blood samples collected before (day 0) and 15 days following treatment and from control dogs were subjected to haemato-biochemical analysis. Ascetic fluid was collected by abdominocentesis for gross, cytological and clinicopathological examinations. The collected faecal samples were examined for the presence of parasitic ova, Estimation of serum ascetic albumin gradient (SAAG), thoracic and abdominal radiography and electrocardiography were performed. Out of the total 3541 dogs examined during the period from January to June 2016, 12 dogs (0.34%) had ascites, consisting of four (33.33%) Labradors, 3 (25%) Spitz, 2 (16.67%) German shepherd, one (8.33%) mixed breed dog, one (8.33%) Boxer and one (8.33%) Golden Retriever. Ascitic dogs were grouped into 4 causative types depending on the primary organ involvement, and appropriate therapy was provided depending on the cause of the disease. The ascetic dogs with kidney involvement had significant decrease in mean haemoglobin level and Packed Cell Volume. There was significant increase in neutrophil percentage in all groups as compared to control, but no significant difference was recorded in eosinophil percentage among the groups. The mean serum total bilirubin & direct bilirubin of group with primary liver affection was significantly higher than other groups and control. The mean serum AST activity of all the groups was significantly higher than control. Post treatment haematological examination on day 15 revealed increase in Hb and PCV in all groups, Serum ascetic albumin gradient (SAAG) of two cases were more than 1.1 g / dl suggestive of presence of portal hypertension. It was concluded that specific and supportive treatment after identification of primary organ involvement in the pathogenesis of ascites restored clinic-pathological alterations.