Ranger Chapel is a 3 year old Maine Coon w/ a 3 month history of weight loss and intermittent diarrhea. Ultimately, he was diagnosed w/ EPI based on a GI blood panel. What I could find on VIN said there are not usually specific ultrasound findings unless there is concurrent disease such as chronic pancreatitis, cholangitis or IBD. What is your experience? I had originally not been impressed w/ his pancreas, but looking back at the images, could appreciate a hyperechoic mesentery in the region of the left limb and the body.
Ranger Chapel is a 3 year old Maine Coon w/ a 3 month history of weight loss and intermittent diarrhea. Ultimately, he was diagnosed w/ EPI based on a GI blood panel. What I could find on VIN said there are not usually specific ultrasound findings unless there is concurrent disease such as chronic pancreatitis, cholangitis or IBD. What is your experience? I had originally not been impressed w/ his pancreas, but looking back at the images, could appreciate a hyperechoic mesentery in the region of the left limb and the body. I am not sure if the small hypoechoic structure dorsal to the stomach is actually the left limb or a lymph node, but if it is parenchyma, would you consider it atrophied?
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My experience would be
My experience would be variable presentations… chronic triad disease to hyperechoic amyloid type panc no findings at all. It would be a good study but would take a shopping spree of surgical bx on every EPI cat. I suggest the maldigestion panel any time I have a triad diease presentation with wieght loss because the client is usually on a cancer hunt…. but its not a cheap test so the reality is a lot of shot gun therapy becomes the norm and I have no results compiled.
Remo?
True EPI is typically
True EPI is typically diagnosed with serum TLI and would respond to pancreatic enzyme supplementation but if there is concurrent IBD then hypoallergenic diet and possibly preds added and if there is cholangiohepatitis then Ursodiol added. Not sure how accurate US is in diagnosing EPI.