title: Role of low dietary fat in the treatment of dogs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
abstract: The main objective of the study reported here was to determine whether signs typical of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) are alleviated when affected dogs are fed a diet with low fat content, compared with feeding ordinary commercial dog food or food prepared by the owner. The most cost-effective amount of enzyme supplement also was estimated. The study consisted of 6 test periods. Duration of the first and third periods was 4 weeks, and that of the others was 2 weeks. During the first 2 periods, the dogs were fed their original diet. The amount of enzyme supplement was reduced by half between the first and the second period. During the last 4 periods, the dogs were fed only the low-fat diet, and amount of the enzyme supplement was reduced stepwise. During the entire study, owners were asked to assess daily the severity of 9 signs typical of EPI. A new index was established by adding the daily scores of each individual EPI sign. This index was designated the EPI index and was used as a measure of the general well-being of the dog. When the mean EPI indexes of the original diet periods were compared with those of the corresponding low-fat diet periods, there were no statistically significant differences by use of Tukey's test or the paired t-test. There was considerable variability between dogs, however. The fat content of the original diet did not correlate with the difference in EPI signs when the dogs were fed the low-fat diet.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Westermarck
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Junttila
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Wiberg
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000178:diet therapy*; D004285:Dogs; D010188:Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male