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Beagle with Pancreatitis?

Sent to Pet Experts January 23, 2005 6:49 p.m.

I have a pure bred beagle female, spayed, 6 years old. She
weighs
30 pounds. Yesterday a.m. (Saturday) she woke up chipper
and
active as usual, went outside, and came in about 10
minutes later
vomiting grass. Her vomiting continued with mucus and a
small
dollop of dark blood. I took her to the vet and he took x-
rays (no
obstruction), gave her a shot and said wait. Well got home,
she
drank water, threw up again, walked around restlessly,
slept off an
on, absolutely no appetite (never, ever has this happened),
passed
gas, and would continue to throw up after drinking water. I
took her
to the emergency room last night around 8:30 p.m. She
got some
energy back and the vet seemed to think everything was
okay until
drops of dark blood came out of her behind. They kept her
overnight on fluids and told me they suspected
"pancreatitis." Well, I
have been up all night researching this and it doesn’t seem
like such
an easy diagnosis, especially since she is not overweight for
a beagle
and she if very active. They gave her a plasma transfusion
this
morning and said she last threw up at 3:00 a.m. I’m
worried they
are too quick at diagnosing this and possibly doing damage
with
their aggressive treatment? I understand the need for
fluids and I’m
happy about that but I think more tests should have been
done
before diagnosing "pancreatitis." What do you think? Her
Amylase
level was 1145 and Lipase at 833 on Saturday a.m. before
she went
to the emergency room on Saturday night. My Mom’s
friend, who is
a vet, said she thinks it is probably something imflaming
the
intestine and to do a endoscopy and barium xray on
Monday if she
doesn’t seem to improve or pass whatever is the problem.
Polly (my
dog) is now resting fine, she is finishing her plasma
transfusion, and
they are going to check her blood pressure and do more
blood tests.
I feel like they are beating up my little dog and potentially
doing
more harm than good. I also really dislike leaving her there
at the
hospital. If she truly does have "pancreatitis" then it would
be the
acute form. I'm worried I am going to lose her.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Status: Closed Value: $20

Info Request
January 23, 2005 6:53 p.m. (4 minutes and 0 seconds later)

REPLIED to Info Request

Did they tell you why they felt a plasma transfusion was needed?
Any history of eating anything from the table or trash?

DR.V

__________________
Dr. D.A. Vamvakias
Veterinarian

Dr. Vamvakias -- Veterinarian -- 100% Positive Feedback on 991 Pet Accepts
Small Animal & Emergency Medicine

Reply to Dr. Vamvakias
Sent January 23, 2005 7:13 p.m. (20 minutes and 44 seconds later)

I cut way back on table scraps last year. No trash that I am
aware of but she does go to day camp when I work during
the day (and she was at daycamp all day Friday). The
emergency room vet seemed to immediately think it was
HGE or Pancreatitis. She recommended the plasma
transfusion because she said it seemed to help other dogs
with their recovery. She also said she sees acute
pancreatitis quite a bit (including in her own dog) and
therefore was confident in her diagnoses. I was so
distraught I said yes to the transfusion but then did
research and realized I should have said no? Thank you so
much for your prompt reply!

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Answer
January 23, 2005 7:36 p.m. (22 minutes and 43 seconds later)

ACCEPTED

Pancreatitis is a "safe" diagnosis... If you have the bloodwork can you tell me the normal ref range on the lipase? It is dependend on the lab test...there is no standard.

The good thing is that whether it is pancreatitis or not, the IV fluids and supportive care is what is called for since you had a healthy dog with an acute episode. I can't say that I agree with the plasma transfusion unless there was something in the bloodwork that showed a need for it.

If you want you can request a copy of the bloodwork and I will review it. I do think your dog will be fine because of the IV support so do not get too nervous.

Let me know if you want further help.

Dr.Vamvakisa

__________________
Dr. D.A. Vamvakias
Veterinarian

Dr. Vamvakias -- Veterinarian -- 100% Positive Feedback on 991 Pet Accepts
Small Animal & Emergency Medicine

Reply to Dr. Vamvakias
Sent January 23, 2005 7:44 p.m. (7 minutes and 37 seconds later)

Hi Dr. Vamvakia, they said the range for Amylase was a
high of 1125 and for Lipase "normal" was 695. What are
the risks with the plasma transfusion? Thank you again!

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Answer
January 23, 2005 8:24 p.m. (40 minutes and 37 seconds later)

REPLIED

That is what I thought. Amylase and Lipase is only somewhat suggestive if it is elevated, amylase alone doesn't mean anything. I don't quite know where the diagnosis of acutal pancreatitis came from although it is safe.

The plasma transfusion can be a problem if there was no need for it. You "overload" the circulatory system with extra plasma and it can cause fluid shifts in the body. In pancreatitis it is used to prevent the pancreas from become swollen and other circulatory issues.

I imagine your dog will be fine. I am only hearing oneside of the issue...I just would like more support of pancreatitis before I would do a plasma transfusion, but every emergency clinic is different.

I am sure things will be fine and if the dog did happen to have a low grade pancreatitis, the plasma may not have helped or hurt.

Dr.Vamvakias

__________________
Dr. D.A. Vamvakias
Veterinarian

Dr. Vamvakias -- Veterinarian -- 100% Positive Feedback on 991 Pet Accepts
Small Animal & Emergency Medicine

Reply to Dr. Vamvakias
Sent January 23, 2005 8:37 p.m. (13 minutes and 7 seconds later)

Thank you Dr. Vamvakias, I just called the emergency room
and they gave me a little more information: they said she
had severe diarrhea this a.m. with lots of blood up to 10:00
a.m. and then it stopped. So lots of gas last night, blood,
then diarrhea with blood. They said no more vomiting or
diarrhea, urination is normal. PCV levels are back to
normal (were 52% now to 35%) and hydration is normal. So
they said she seems to be back to her normal levels.

My fingers are crossed. In the interim, this website was a
Godsend as was your excellent advice and assurances.
Thank you a million times.
Cathy

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

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