Information about prevalence and breed predisposition of canine chronic enteropathy (CE) is limited. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate period prevalence, breed disposition, clinical features, diagnostic results, and treatment response of CE in dogs presenting at two Swedish animal hospitals during 2013–2018. A medical record search was performed to identify CE dogs including those with ≥3 visits because of gastrointestinal disease and/or that had undergone gastroduodenoscopy/colonoscopy during 2013–2018. Dog characteristics, case history, physical examination, laboratory variables, therapeutic protocol, and treatment response were recorded. Inclusion criteria for CE were met by 814 dogs. Period prevalence of CE was 1.1% of total number of dogs. Breeds with the highest relative risk included Norwegian Lundehund, West Highland White Terrier, and Miniature Poodle. Median age at presentation was 3.8 (IQR 1.8–6.8) years. French Bulldogs and Miniature Schnauzers presented at a younger age (<2.5 years) compared to other breeds (p < 0.05). In a subset of dogs, serum hypoalbuminemia (116/662, 17.5%), hypocobalaminemia (98/647, 15.1%), and increased C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations (145/267, 54.3%) were diagnosed. Treatment outcome was classified in 72.9% of dogs and characterized as immunosuppressant-responsive (55.2%), food-responsive (11.4%), non-responsive (5.2%), and antibiotic-responsive (1.1%). Non-responsive dogs were more likely to present with anemia hypoproteinemia/albuminemia, increased CRP, and ascites (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the prevalence of dogs with CE at Swedish hospitals agreed with earlier reports, but risk breeds differed slightly and, compared to other breeds, a younger age of CE onset was found in two breeds. The largest proportion of dogs was immunosuppressant-responsive and the smallest antibiotic-responsive.

Background: Video capsule endoscopy is a noninvasive technique for evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract. Objective: To investigate the safety of using the video capsule ALICAM in dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE) >10 kg, and to compare macroscopic gastrointestinal morphology between CE dogs and healthy controls (HC). Animals: Fifteen CE dogs and 15 similarly breed, age and body weight matched HC. Methods: All dogs underwent a clinical work up including blood analyses, fecal samples, abdominal ultrasonographic examination, and blood pressure measurement. The dogs were withheld from food for 16 hours before and 8 hours after they PO received an ALICAM. All recordings were quality assessed, and blindly evaluated by 2 trained observers. Results: The median age of CE dogs and HC was 3.3 (interquartile range [IQR] 2.5-5.9) years and 4.7 (IQR 3.3-5.6) years, respectively. The median body weight in the CE dogs and HC was 25.9 (IQR 20.6-30.9) kg, and 29 (IQR 16.2-30.5) kg, respectively. Complete recordings of the gastrointestinal tract were obtained from all dogs without complications. No significant differences were found between groups regarding number of abnormalities such as irregular mucosa, erythema, nonbleeding erosions, bleeding erosions, and dilated lacteals, as well as severity and extent of the abnormalities. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The use of ALICAM for evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract in CE dogs and HC seems safe and feasible regarding gastrointestinal transit and macroscopic morphology assessment in dogs >10 kg. Abnormalities were found in similar proportions in CE dogs and HC.