GASTROINTESTINAL MOTILITY - CLINICAL ASSESSMENT IN SMALL ANIMALS

摘要

In people, disorders of gastrointestinal (GI) motility are common reasons for patients to visit their physician1. They include a variety of problems such as heartburn, regurgitation, dysphagia, bloating, postprandial fullness, early satiety, and constipation. In dogs, the prevalence of GI motility disorders cannot be documented precisely due to difficulty in obtaining a definitive diagnosis. Examples of such diseases include megaesophagus, disorders of gastric emptying, functional intestinal obstruction (ileus), megacolon and constipation. In dogs, abnormal gastric motility can lead to the feared and potentially fatal gastric dilation-volvulus (GDV) syndrome. More generally, disorders of GI motility can cause discomfort in small animals and their diagnosis and treatment is often challenging to general practitioners and specialists alike. A variety of primary and secondary gastric defects have been identified as potential causes gastric atony. To this day, the timely recognition and proper diagnosis of GI motility disorders in small animals has been hampered by the lack of a practical, non-invasive ways to evaluate GI motility.