Gastric foreign body as a risk factor for gastric dilatation and volvulus in dogs.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate whether the presence of a gastric foreign body (gFB) is a significant risk factor for gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV) in dogs and to quantify the change in likelihood of developing GDV associated with the presence of a gFB.


METHODS
Retrospective case-control study.


METHODS
118 large- or giant-breed dogs treated surgically for an episode of GDV and 342 large- or giant-breed dogs (> 12 months old) that underwent abdominal surgery for reasons other than GDV.


METHODS
During exploratory celiotomy, all dogs underwent palpation and visual examination of the entire gastrointestinal tract. A foreign body was defined as nondigestible or slowly digestible material palpated during gastrointestinal tract examination that was causing clinical signs or was > 10 cm in length or > 2 cm in width.


RESULTS
The incidence of gFBs was significantly higher in the group of dogs with GDV. The presence of a gFB, age, weight, and purebred status were significant risk factors for GDV. Odds ratios were calculated for gFB (OR, 4.920), age (OR, 1.157), weight (OR, 0.958) and purebred status (OR, 4.836).


CONCLUSIONS
Gastric foreign body was found to be a significant risk factor for GDV in dogs. The study findings suggested that a large- or giant-breed dog with a gFB was approximately 5 times as likely to develop GDV as a similar dog with no gFB. Results indicated that there was a strong correlation between gFB and GDV in dogs. However, further cohort studies are needed to determine whether there is a causal relationship between the presence of a gFB and the development of GDV in dogs.
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Bristol Veterinary School, Bristol University, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, England.
Anna
A
de Battisti
Michael J
MJ
Toscano
Luca
L
Formaggini
D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D004285:Dogs; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary*; D013271:Gastric Dilatation / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013270:Stomach; D013277:Stomach Volvulus / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*