Background Diarrhea associated with parvovirus infection is common in dogs. Supportive care is the mainstay of treatment, but recovery may be prolonged and mortality rate can be high. Modification of the intestinal bacterial microbiota has been promising in human and veterinary medicine as an adjunctive treatment of various enteric diseases. Objectives To investigate the safety and efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on the clinical recovery of puppies with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome. Animals Sixty‐six puppies with parvovirus infection were evaluated at 2 veterinary hospitals. Methods Randomized clinical trial. Puppies were randomly distributed into 2 groups: standard treatment (STD) and standard treatment + FMT (STD + FMT). The STD puppies (n = 33) received only treatment with IV fluids and antimicrobials and the STD + FMT puppies (n = 33) received FMT in addition to standard treatment. For FMT, 10 g of feces from a healthy dog diluted in 10 mL of saline were administered rectally 6‐12 hours post‐admission. Results Among survivors, treatment with FMT was associated with faster resolution of diarrhea (P < .001) and shorter hospitalization time (P = .001; median, 3 days in STD + FMT; median, 6 days in STD) compared to standard treatment. Mortality in STD was 36.4% (12/33) as compared to 21.2% (7/33) in puppies treated with FMT, but there was no statistical difference between groups (P = .174). Polymerase chain reaction indicated that all animals carried canine parvovirus, strain CPV‐2b. Conclusions Fecal microbiota transplantation in parvovirus‐infected puppies was associated with faster resolution of diarrhea.

Malnutrition occurs when the supply of available nutrients is less than organic demand. It is an underdiagnosed problem in veterinary medicine and can result in several negative metabolic consequences, with greater morbidity and mortality. Currently, the classification of nutritional status (NS) is performed subjectively in veterinary medicine, so studies and discoveries about laboratory markers (objectives) of malnutrition are desirable. This study evaluated the correlations between several laboratory variables (practical and low-cost measurements) and the nutritional status (NS) of 246 dogs from a veterinary school hospital in southern Brazil. In this way, the laboratory profile of malnutrition in this population is evident. NS was classified by body condition score (BCS) and muscle mass score (MMS). A patient was considered to be malnourished if the BCS was less than 3 (values from 1 to 9). The laboratory variables analyzed were hemogram, cholesterol, total protein (TP), albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), CRP/albumin ratio, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin (TF), transferrin saturation index (TSI), and transthyretin. The means and standard deviations of the variables, correlation analyses, and comparative analyses (Kruskal-Wallis in α = 5%) were calculated. This research aimed to identify objective and practical malnutrition markers that help in the elaboration of a protocol for nutritional evaluation in diseased dogs. Low values of TF, TIBC, TP, hemogram, and TSI elevation were indicative of malnutrition. Additionally, cholesterol and albuminemia are not good markers of malnutrition in dogs with systemic diseases. For the graduation of the inflammatory state (important to differentiate inflammatory hypoproteinemia from protein malnutrition), it is more reliable to measure the CRP/albumin ratio. Canine transthyretin cannot be measured with reagents designed for humans, such as those used in this study. It was possible to conclude that laboratory indicators of malnutrition in sick dogs include low values of TF, TIBC, and TP, anemia, and elevations of TSI. The joint changes in these markers gradually reinforced the diagnosis.

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a biomarker of neuronal cell lysis, which demonstrates stability in extracellular fluids such as blood and cerebrospinal fluid. To the authors knowledge there is no research information comparing the use of NSE in dogs with and without encephalitis, putting in evidence the importance of that biomarker to detect neuronal damage in dogs. The objective was to compare the serum NSE levels in dogs with and without encephalitis, and to determine the serum NSE levels in normal dogs. Thirty eight dogs were evaluated, 19 dogs with encephalitis (EG Group) and 19 dogs without encephalitis (CG Group). The criteria for inclusion in the EG Group were presence of neurological signs in more than one part of the CNS (multifocal syndrome) and positive molecular diagnosis for canine distemper virus; for the CG Group were an age between 1 to 7 years and be clinically normal; NSE were measured in serum using an ELISA assay, and the results were compared. In the EG Group the NSE values were higher with significant difference (P=0.0053) when compared with the CG Group. NSE is a biomarker that can be measured in serum samples of dogs to monitor neuronal lesions in encephalitis.