Retrospective case series on functional dyspepsia in dogs

Functional gastrointestinal disorders – that is, disorders without an underlying physical cause – are common in humans, with functional dyspepsia (FD) and irritable bowel syndrome being the most common. In humans, FD causes symptoms of abdominal discomfort and pain, and early satiety.

Kaufmann et al¹ performed a retrospective case series that aimed to describe this syndrome in dogs. Inclusion criteria included laboratory imaging and gastroscopy findings that did not explain the severity of the observed signs. A total of 29 dogs were included in the study, all of which had signs of gastrointestinal discomfort, with 97% of cases showing signs of vomiting, while pica, intermittent diarrhoea and compulsive chewing behaviours were common. Females and small-breed dogs were more commonly affected, and the median age of onset was 1.5 years. In all, 76% of dogs showed improvement over a median 12-month follow-up period. It was also noted that anxiety disorders in the owners were common.

The authors speculated that a gut-brain axis disturbance could be responsible for the condition. Treatments including diet changes, antacids and prokinetics may be beneficial.

Indoor cats

Calls from some quarters have been made for quite some time for cats to be kept indoors, both for their own safety and to reduce the large number of wildlife casualties that they cause by their hunting activities. Railton et al² performed a study that aimed to investigate how transitioning a cat from an outdoor to an indoor lifestyle impacts cats and their owners. A total of 16 cats that previously had outdoor access were enrolled in a four-week trial with one week of outdoor access and three weeks indoors only. Owner experiences were monitored and cat behaviour and activity were recorded by owners and activity trackers.

Owners reported feelings of guilt and difficulty with monitoring entrances; six out of 16 said they would continue keeping their cats indoors after the study. Some cats appeared to adjust to the change easily while others showed signs of stress. No significant difference was reported in activity levels before and after the transition.

The authors concluded that some, but not all, cats can adapt easily to indoor living.

GDV or GD?

Distinguishing between a 360° gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV) and gastric dilatation (GD) is challenging, but important when making clinical decisions and predictions such as prognosis and the need for surgical intervention.

Maxwell et al³ performed a retrospective study reviewing records for cases of 360° GDV and GD to identify radiographic features that distinguish between the two.

A group of 29 dogs with 360° GDV confirmed at surgery and 38 dogs with GD were included in the study. The entire 100% of 360° GDV cases had a caudoventral location to the gastric fundus, and the pyloric antrum was craniodorsal in 88%. Where oesophageal gas dilatation was present, the caudal oesophageal twist sign – that is, a funnel shape to the caudal oesophagus – was observed in all dogs with volvulus. However, this sign was harder to spot when orogastric decompression had first been attempted.

In dogs with GD, the gastric fundus was situated craniodorsally and in the left cranial abdomen. Decreased peritoneal detail was common in dogs with 360° GDV and was not observed in dogs with GD.

The authors concluded that the caudal oesophageal twist sign was suggestive of 360° GDV in dogs with moderate or severe oesophageal gas dilatation, which may help clinicians distinguish between GDV and GD.

Cerebral microbleeds

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are small, focal, chronic areas of haemorrhage in the brain that may become more common with increasing age. In humans, they are associated with stroke and cognitive decline.

Coelho et al⁴ performed a retrospective study to describe the imaging findings of dogs with presumed CMBs along with signalment and concurrent age-related changes. A total of 747 dogs that had undergone high-field MRI with standard sequences were included in the study, with 142 of these (19%) considered to have presumptive CMBs.

Older dogs, small-breed dogs and females had higher prevalences of presumptive CMBs. In most cases, the CMBs were multiple. 61% of dogs had concurrent brain atrophy.

The authors concluded that presumed CMB with brain atrophy is a common finding in older dogs – especially small-breed and female dogs.

Fructosamine

Fructosamine assays are commonly used to diagnose and monitor diabetes in dogs. In humans, glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is much more commonly used. Ha et al⁵ performed a cross-sectional study to assess whether HbA1c is useful in identifying dogs at risk of diabetes.

Dogs were stratified into one of four groups: control (young and healthy); overweight; elderly; and with comorbidities that can predispose to diabetes.

The HbA1c levels were found to be significantly higher in the experimental groups compared to the control group.

The authors concluded that HbA1c can be used to screen for diabetes in dogs at high risk of the condition.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is commonly encountered in primary care practice. Bride et al⁶ performed a retrospective study to estimate how prevalent generalised tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) and non-generalised tonic-clonic seizures (non-GTCS) are in a single primary care practice.

A total of 28 cases with at least one seizure were included in the study – 57% of cases were GTCS, with a further 32% being GTCS with additional signs; 11% were non-GTCS; 57% of cases had neurology referrals, with 81% of these being uninsured. The authors recommended that larger studies are performed to assess possible financial barriers to optimal care of these cases.

Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is becoming increasingly used in dogs as part of multimodal analgesia.

However, just as with the US government’s pronouncements on risks associated with the drug in human pregnancy, limited evidence in dogs on its pharmacokinetics and analgesic efficacy exists.

Del Mar Granados et al⁷ performed a randomised blinded trial to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, postoperative analgesia and safety of intravenous acetaminophen in dogs that were undergoing laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy.

Buprenorphine was used as the control. Pain was assessed with the Glasgow Composite Measure Pain Scale short form (CMPS-SF) and mechanical nociceptive thresholds for 24 hours. A total of 59 dogs were included in the study. Acetaminophen given at the dose and schedule in this study was comparable to buprenorphine.

Pharmacodynamic analysis suggested that analgesia was sustained over time. Greyhounds showed higher pain scores, suggesting breed differences in pain sensitivity. No adverse effects were noted.

The authors concluded that acetaminophen appears to be safe and effective for postoperative analgesia in dogs. However, breed differences may need to be taken into account to optimise analgesia protocols.

Use of some of the drugs in this article is under the veterinary medicine cascade.

• This article appeared in Vet Times (17 February 2026), Volume 56, Issue 7, Pages 13-14

Alex Gough qualified from the University of Cambridge in 1996, and worked in mixed and small animal practice until 2002, when he co-founded a referral centre in south-west England. He gained an RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine in 2001, an RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Cardiology in 2005, a Postgraduate Certificate in Neuroimaging for Research from The University of Edinburgh in 2009 and a PhD in Applied Health Research from the University of Birmingham. Alex is co-author of Breed Predispositions to Disease in Dogs and Cats, and the author of Differential Diagnosis in Small Animal Medicine.