Today's Veterinary Practice provides comprehensive information to keep every small animal practitioner up to date on companion animal medicine and surgery as well as practice building and management.
Issue link: http://todaysveterinarypractice.epubxp.com/i/591321
Today's VeTerinary PracTice | november/december 2015 | tvpjournal.com PeT HeaLTH By THe nUMBers 20 Path to Pet Wellness: These data from Banfeld Pet Hospital represent the largest survey performed of the incidence of gastrointestinal foreign bodies (GIFBs) in dogs and cats. As most small animal practitioners would suspect, younger dogs (< 1 year of age) have the highest prevalence of GIFBs. Interestingly, the age range with the highest prevalence in cats is slightly older than their canine counterparts (1–3 years of age). Somewhat surprisingly, pit bulls win out in the breed category (42.78/10,000 dogs seen) over Labrador retrievers (37.47/10,000 dogs seen). The incidence of GIFBs in d ogs parallels their size, with giant breeds having the highest incidence and toy or small breeds having the lowest incidence. I would speculate that larger breed dogs may be able to ingest items, such as cloth, socks, or toys, that smaller dogs are not able to swallow. It is important to note that GIFBs occurred in dogs and cats of every age and size; therefore, this diagnosis should be considered a possibility in any dog or cat presenting for vomiting. These data do not distinguish the location of the foreign bodies in the GI tract, but one previous study reported that 63% of canine GIFB obstructions occurred in the jejunum. 1 A thorough history and physical examination, including abdominal palpation, is indicated in animals presenting with vomiting to guide further diagnostic testing, which might include plain and possibly positive contrast abdominal radiographs or abdominal ultrasound. —David E. Holt, BVSc, Diplomate ACVS, University of Pennsylvania Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies The following tables outline the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) foreign bodies in dogs and cats presented to Banfeld Pet Hospitals in 2014. Removal of gastrointestinal foreign bodies is discussed in Endoscopy Essentials: Endoscopic Foreign Body Retrieval (page 77). Brought to you in partnership with: Reference 1. Hayes G. Gastrointestinal foreign bodies in dogs and cats: A retrospective study of 208 cases. J Small Anim Pract 2009; 50:576-583. In each issue of Today's Veterinary Practice, Pet Health by the Numbers correlates an article topic with statistics provided by Banfeld Pet Hospital (banfeld .com). These statistics are extracted from data collected from the medical records of nearly 2.4 million dogs and more than 480,000 cats presented to more than 890 Banfeld Pet Hospitals in 2014. Learn more about data collection by reading Welcome to Pet Health by the Numbers (January/ February 2014 issue) and Key Findings from the State of Pet Health 2014 Report (May/June 2014 issue), both available at tvpjournal.com. Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies per 10,000 Dogs & Cats Seen, Grouped by Age & Reproductive Status* (2014) Age & Reproductive Status Dogs Cats Population in Category GI Foreign Bodies Per 10,000 Population in Category GI Foreign Bodies Per 10,000 All dogs or cats combined 2,385,508 26.4 481,643 16.1 Juvenile (< 1 year) 534,765 43 114,850 18.8 Young adult (1 – < 3 years) 589,559 29.1 106,938 24.6 Mature adult (3 – < 10 years) 1,166,624 16.7 188,675 12.5 Geriatric ( > 10 years) 283,106 12.5 97,805 6.3 Neutered male 911,772 31 214,474 18.7 Spayed female 904,794 23.9 212,170 14.9 Intact male 327,517 25.9 24,810 9.7 Intact female 240,995 19.1 28,974 11.7 *NOTE : Age group and reproductive status totals do not match overall totals. Age groups are derived from visit age in 2014; some pets may have been counted in multiple age categories (eg, a pet that visited as a juvenile and then as a young adult in 2014). Reproductive status totals do not match due to animals of unknown sex or reproductive status. Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies per 10,000 Dogs Seen, Grouped by Body Size (2014) Dog Size Population in Category GI Foreign Bodies Per 10,000 All dogs combined 2,385,508 26.4 Toy/Small (< 20 lb) 1,203,203 19 Medium (20 to < 50 lb) 643,884 31.7 Large (50 to < 90 lb) 491,340 35.6 Giant ( ≥ 90 lb) 47,081 45.9 Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies per 10,000 Dogs Seen, Grouped by Ranked Breed Popularity (2014) Rank Breed Population in Category GI Foreign Bodies Per 10,000 na Mixed breed 82,082 23.63 1 Labrador retriever 206,046 37.47 2 Chihuahua 204,795 14.80 3 Yorkshire terrier 144,134 20.54 4 Shih Tzu 140,404 15.38 5 Pit bull 127,401 42.78 6 German shepherd 92,603 27.54 7 Maltese 84,549 14.31 8 Dachshund 75,191 26.33 9 Boxer 68,993 33.63 10 Golden retriever 58,180 41.77