Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The picture on the left shows a normal colon, the picture on the right is a colon affected with inflammatory
bowel disease.
Inflammatory bowel disease is a condition that results when cells involved in
inflammation and immune response infiltrates the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The
presence of these cells causes thickening of the bowel lining and interferes with the way
the bowel absorbs nutrients and moves food through the GI tract. If the infiltration is
higher in the gastrointestinal tract vomiting can occur. Diarrhea occurs when the
inflammation is located farther down in the intestinal tract and can sometimes be watery,
mucousy, or even bloody. Inflammatory Bowel Disease is often confused with Irritable
Bowel Syndrome it is important to know that these are 2 totally different diseases
Irritable Bowel Syndrome deals with stress related intestinal upset.
Occasional vomiting and diarrhea seems to be a usual occurrence in cats and dogs. Cats
often vomit due to hairballs and dogs are known to eat something they shouldn’t have
which causes stomach upset. When these things seem to happen frequently, IBD becomes
a concern. Sometimes the signs are subtle such as cleaning up a hairball or vomit a little
more frequently than with previous pets, or noticing that a regular bowel movement has
not been seen for a week or more. Many times the pet doesn’t even seem sick maybe a
little weight loss over time but nothing acute. The first step in diagnosing a chronic
intestinal problem such as IBD it to check a stool sample for both the presence of parasite
ova and bacterial imbalances. Once both of those causes are ruled out a basic blood panel
is needed to check the health of internal organs such as liver and kidneys, which can
cause similar signs when becoming diseased. After this an x-ray may be taken to rule out
any signs of growths with in the abdomen that may be causing a problem. If all of these
things come out normal a trial of medications such as metaclopramide and metronidazole
can begin. These medications are used often to relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel
syndrome and can be used to help diagnose the condition.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a disease that often must be suspected based on ruling out
other conditions. The only true way to diagnose this condition is to do a biopsy of several
sections of the gastrointestinal tract. These samples are then sent to the laboratory to be
examined on a cellular level. During the examination pathologists are looking for an
excess of inflammatory cells within the samples. Since this approach can be a little
invasive diagnosis is typically made by ruling out all of the above causes for chronic
intestinal upset. Unfortunately, the causes of irritable bowel syndrome are not readily
known. Often the cause is never discovered for a particular patient. The current widely
accepted theory is that “something” is leading to a chronic stimulus of inflammation.
Examples of this “something” are food intolerance, parasites, bacterial imbalances, or a
problem with the body’s immune system. In many individuals it makes a combination
treatment of these conditions to ease the effects of irritable bowel.
The cornerstone of treatment for IBD is to reduce the inflammation. In some cases the
medication metronidazole can control the inflammation all on its own. In other cases a
steroid such as prednisone, or even diet changes may be required to relieve the
symptoms. When it comes to diet changes the goal is to make digestion easier for the
pet’s system. In cases where an allergen is believed to be the cause of the inflammation a
hypoallergenic food is usually recommended. Prescription foods that are either highly
digestible or higher in fiber also help in many situations.
It is important to note that treatment can begin without biopsies to properly diagnose
IBD, but in some cases IBD is not the problem. A disease caused lymphoma can appear
in the intestinal tract with symptoms that look just like IBD. In cases where treatment for
IBD does not seem to help, or only help for a very short period of time it is important to
report this back to your veterinarian.