title: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in pigeons.
abstract: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is a well-studied syndrome in domestic animals. EPI occurs when severe progressive loss of tubulo-acinar tissue from atrophy or inflammatory destruction results in insufficient secretion of digestive enzymes and clinical signs of malabsorption. However, the literature on EPI in birds is limited. The syndrome has been previously described in several cases where the diagnosis was based on clinical signs due to malabsorption-like light-coloured voluminous faeces, voracious appetite, coprophagia and weight loss, and on the response to treatment with pancreatic enzyme formulas. To enable a more scientific approach to the diagnosis of pancreatic functional disorders in pigeons, reference values of plasma amylase (382 to 556 IU/l), lipase (0 to 5 IU/l), and faecal activities of amylase (13 to 16 IU/l) and trypsin (11 to 14 IU/l) were determined in 24 adult pigeons. A case of EPI in a racing pigeon (Columba livia domestica) is reported, based on the clinical signs and the measurement of faecal amylase and trypsin activity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Avian and Exotic Animal Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Universiteit Utrecht, Yalelaan 8, 3584 CM, Utrecht, The Netherlands. o.amann@vet.uu.nl
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Amann
authors.forename: Merel J M
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Visschers
authors.forename: Gerry M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Dorrestein
authors.forename: Ineke
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Westerhof
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lumeij
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D010856:Columbidae; D005243:Feces; D005260:Female; D046790:Pancreas, Exocrine / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000662:veterinary*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology