Objective: To test the hypothesis that intestinal pathologic changes are often concurrent with gastric pathologic changes in dogs and to characterize the historical, physical, clinicopathologic, imaging, and endoscopic findings in dogs with gastric histopathologic abnormalities.
Design: Retrospective case series.
Animals: 67 dogs with gastric histopathologic abnormalities.
Procedures: Medical records from dogs that had undergone gastrotomy, gastroduodenoscopy, or gastroscopy between September 2002 and September 2007 were identified. Dogs were included in the study when histopathologic abnormalities were detected during evaluation of gastric tissue sections. History, clinical examination findings, results of diagnostic tests, diagnoses, treatments, and outcome were recorded for each dog.
Results: 67 dogs with gastric histopathologic abnormalities were included in the study. The most frequent clinical sign recorded was vomiting (36/67 [53.7%] dogs). The most common biochemical abnormality recorded was panhypoproteinemia (27/64 [42.2%] dogs). Lymphoplasmacytic gastritis was the most frequent histopathologic finding recorded (34/67 [50.7%] dogs). For dogs in which both intestinal biopsy specimens and gastric biopsy specimens were collected, concurrent pathologic changes were recorded in 43 of 60 (71.7%) dogs.
Conclusions and clinical relevance: Results of this study suggested that intestinal pathologic changes are commonly concurrent in dogs with gastric pathologic changes. This supports the practice of collecting both gastric and duodenal biopsy specimens every time gastroduodenoscopy is performed. Lymphoplasmacytic gastritis was the most commonly recorded gastric histopathologic finding and was often of minimal or mild severity.