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Acute Haemorrhagic Pancreatic Necrosis This condition develops as a result of the pancreatic enzymes being released into the surrounding tissue, resulting in damage to that tissue. Depending on the severity and duration of the problem a small percentage of cases may have an associated diabetes mellitus. These animals are usually presented with dullness, restlessness, anorexia, vomiting, and occasionally diarrhoea. The abdomen may be painful, the animal dehydrated and feverish. The diagnosis is helped by laboratory tests which will show a raised level of pancreatic enzymes including amylase and lipase. Liver enzymes may also be raised due to associated liver dysfunction, and an increased number of white blood cells may be observed. On some occasions diagnosis can prove difficult and surgical exploration may need to be carried out to visually assess the condition of the pancreas. The basis of treatment is to withhold food while maintaining the animal on intravenous fluids until the inflammation has settled, mild cases can resolve after 48 hours. Severe cases can show signs of shock and should be treated aggressively with fluid therapy. Painkillers may be required. After the fluid therapy and once the clinical signs have settled then small amounts of water can be offered orally, and then the reintroduction of high carbohydrate food. Following recovery the patient should be kept on a low fat diet. The prognosis is variable, some severely affected animals may die, other moderately affected animals can prove unresponsive to treatment. Most patients probably recover from the initial episode of illness. |
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