2017 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

In conclusion, fecal dysbiosis is present in cats with CE. Although the FCEAI decreased significantly after 4 weeks of medical treatment, the abundance of selected bacterial groups did not change significantly. Results might suggest that a longer period of treatment or a different approach to medical therapy (i.e., pre-or probiotics) may be needed for cats to recover from fecal dysbiosis associated with CE. In human medicine, recent studies have shown that individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have statistically significant decreases in mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) and increases in platelet crit (PCT) compared to healthy controls. In remission, PDW and PCT have been found to be significantly greater than in controls. No studies to date have investigated the association between platelet indices in dogs with IBD compared to healthy controls and to determine if platelet indices could be useful predictors of disease presence or severity. Therefore, the purpose of this retrospective study was to determine if any platelet indices are significantly different between dogs diagnosed with IBD and healthy matched control dogs, or if any indices are predictive of severity based on canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI) scores assigned retrospectively to dogs diagnosed with IBD.