davet, ldvet, traci, anyone - bloody diarrhea and vomiting

[k9Karen]

My daughter called me in a total panic last night. Her Boston Terrier pup Buster ("The Alien") had suddenly developed blood diarrhea. I told her to make sure he had plenty of water, watch him ,and to take him to the vet in the morning (today). About 2 hours later she called back because the diarrhea had gotten worse and he was vomiting. I told her to call her vet and to see if there was a recording about what to do in emergencies. Fortunately, the recording referred her to an emergency vet.

The emergency vet gave the dog subcutaneous fluids and what my daughter said was something for nausea. I am uncertain if there was anything else. She was told to watch him and take him to her vet if there was no improvement. Fecal exam was negative for parasites.

Long story, but my question is what could cause this? He was on antibiotics for a respiratory infection and coccidia about 3-4 months ago. He was later on more antibiotics for diarrhea which ended 3-4 weeks ago. He has had all his vaccines and is a pampered house pooch with no contact with other animals. She does however walk him in an area used by other dogs. Could this be an antibiotic-related problem? I am unfamiliar with the etiology of canine antibiotic-associated diarrheas. Could Clostridium be a player here? (and which species of Clostridium causes this in canines - in humans it's usually C.difficile). Can something like that occur 4 weeks after antibiotics are stopped or does it usually happen sooner? If not antibiotics, what?

I know this is long, but I'm very concerned. What would the usual treatment be, and what type of prognosis and additional care are we likely looking at?

Thanks

[Mary Plummer]

Please give your daughter my best for the "Alien"! In Mr. Blue's case, it started with vomiting followed by bloody diarrha. That is awful to see; if your daughter is panicking a bit, I sure understand! The best our vets, and the emergency vet, could tell me is that it probably came from Mr. Blue eating something nasty, that really irritated his whole digestive tract. I have no idea what it could have been, but I'm sure a lot more careful now to make sure he doesn't "sample" anything on our walks! As far as follow-up care goes, Mr. Blue had to go 24-hours without anything. He'd gotten the subcutaneous fluids, too, so he didn't seem thirsty. After that, it was a slow re-introduction of food for him. I made him some boiled rice/chicken breast, and started him off on a couple of tablespoons about 4 or 5 times during the day. We then worked him up to 2 meals a day of this, and gradually started adding a bit of kibble.

Please keep us updated on the Alien's progress!

[TheSkeptic]

Not good. Hoping for the best for the little guy

[ShelbysMom]

I hope everything works out okay for him.

[Rachel]

Hi,

Here is a link to an article on Clostridium Perfringens Enterotoxicosis which is about the strain of clostridium that may cause diarrhea in dogs.

I think a fecal culture is needed to diagnose this. When my Vet has checked for clostridium it was necessary to send the stool sample out to a Lab for culture and analysis.

http://www.cah.com/library/clost.html

And here are a few more links:

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Pr ... R00126.htm

http://www.vetmedcenter.com/consumer/di ... O.xml&dt=K

http://www.uoguelph.ca/ahl/News4-4/Horses.htm

(above link not just about horses. It includes info about dogs too)

[davet]

like this are an allergice reaction unless a fever is running..the dogs lumen cappilaries are very close to the surface and they bleed very easily, both from esophagus and gut....but bacteria could be involved...antispasmotics and antibiotics plus supportive treatment are usually suffice...got no answer but suspect it should turn out allright....

[Traci]

Karen, you said he was a pup, but never mentioned his age, so if he's less than 8 months old, absolutely rule out parvo! Even if a parvo test was done and showed negative, he could still have been exposed and could begin to shed the virus. Double check on that NOW!

Clostridium rarely causes vomiting, it usually causes loose stool, combined with mucous/blood in the stool. I would guess a toxicity of some sort, as in getting into something he wasn't supposed to. (rancid food, lawn grass treated with pesticides, outdoor mushrooms, chewing or swallowing something with jagged edges that might have perforated esophagus, stomach wall or intestine)

Assuming the vet took x-rays and tested for toxicity??? Bloodwork done???

[Traci]

I think a fecal culture is needed to diagnose this. When my Vet has checked for clostridium it was necessary to send the stool sample out to a Lab for culture and analysis.

Actually, most can be detected upon a fecal smear under the microscope alone. With the correct staining technique, the spores will appear like a safety-pin at the end of the cell wall. But, if the slide doesn't show anything unusual, then a culture can be done to confirm any suspicion.

[Rachel]

Thanks Traci. That's good to know.

My Vet did view a slide under the microscope and she said did not see any evidence of C. perfringens. The Lab report took a week to come in and C. perfringens was found (it said ++ on the Lab report). We used Tylosin to treat. The Tylosin powder, which apparently tastes very yucky, was compounded into capsules. A subsequent culture done showed no growth of that nasty little bacteria. I hope we never see it again either!

[davet]

seem to taste too ucky when mixed with a little food