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- Pain in the abdomen
- Fever
- Vomiting, whether acute or cyclic
- Jaundice – possible indication of jaundice include yellowing of the skin, eyes, and other tissues. Urine may also become darker.
- Increased liver enzyme activity
- Endotoxic shock – this is categorized by low temperatures, dizziness, little to no urine, restlessness, and rapid heart rate.
- Palpable swelling of gall bladder
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Non-necrotizing cholecystitis - In this form of cholecystitis, the inflammation may be associated with infection, disease, or neoplasia. Additionally, the condition could be the result of blunt trauma to the abdomen or obstruction of the gallbladder by the cystic duct.
- Necrotizing cholecystitis - This form of cholecystitis typically affects middle-aged and older dogs. Dogs who experience this type of cholecystitis may also experience thromboembolism, blunt trauma to the abdomen, infection, obstruction of the cystic duct, or a gallbladder mucocele. This form of cholecystitis can progress with or without a rupture of the gallbladder or as a chronic condition. This type of cholecystitis requires immediate surgery.
- Emphysematous cholecystitis/choledochitis - This is a less common condition resulting from gas within the wall of the gallbladder. In dogs, this condition is associated with diabetes mellitus, acute cholecystitis, traumatic ischemia, mature gallbladder mucocele formation and neoplasia.
- Infection, caused by a variety of infectious agents
- Systemic disease in the animal
- Trauma, particularly a blunt force to the stomach region
- Choleliths, which are stonelike masses in the gallbladder (commonly referred to as gallstones)
- Neoplasia, which is an abnormal growth of new tissue
- Biliary stasis, which is the slowing down or altogether stopping of normal bile flow
- Irritation from biliary sludge and gallstones
- Ascending bacterial infections
- Mucoceles, which are abscesses caused by an inappropriate accumulation of mucus
- A physical exam in which the symptoms are addressed, and a comprehensive examination of the pet is completed.
- Ultrasound, used to detect thickened gallbladder wall or cystic bile duct – this may also lead to pain caused by the pressure of the ultrasound technology in dogs that have cholecystitis.
- Palpation of the gall bladder to determine if there are any masses present or if the area is tender to the touch
- Blood and urinalysis tests
- Abdominal x-rays
- Treatment with antibiotics that work against enteric opportunist parasites
- Colloids (a solution with particles ranging between 1 and 1000 nanometers in diameter, remaining equally distributed throughout the solution) and plasma transfusion (in some cases).
- Surgery – in some cases, emergency surgery may be necessary. The surgery of choice is cholecystectomy, in which the gallbladder is completely removed. Biliary diversion procedures may be necessary in some cases. Cholecystoenterostomy is a biliary diversion procedure where the gallbladder and the small intestine are joined. This allows bile to pass from the liver to the intestine when the bile duct is obstructed by something that cannot be moved. Choledochoenterostomy is biliary diversion procedure option that forms a communication between the bile duct and intestine so that bile may pass through as well.
- Samples of bile, gallbladder wall, choleliths and liver tissue may be submitted for aerobic and anaerobic cultures to determine the best treatment options. Based on the results of these cultures and sensitivity of bile and involved tissues, antimicrobial therapy may be used.
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