Case Study

RAD- Mild maldigestion pattern in a 10 year old FS Golden Retriever

This 10 year old FS Golden Retriever has a history of difficulty getting up/falling of 2 months duration. Abdominal pain.

DX

The radiographic examination of the abdomen is within normal limits

Image Interpretation

Rads of the abdomen – Mild degenerative changes and mild age related osteopenia is seen along the axial skeleton. The stomach contains a mild amount of gas, so does the descending duodenum. The course of the descending duodenum resembles an inverted 7. There is a mild maldigestion pattern throughout the small intestine with multifocal mild to moderate amounts of gas and variable motility pattern

Outcome

The gastrointestinal maldigestion pattern with mild gas accumulation is likely to be a
consequence of aerophagia, which usually is a function of pain, stress and/or
panting/dyspnea or a combination of these. A primary or secondary gastroenteropathy is a possible but less likely differential diagnosis.