The patient is usually placed on supportive care, such as intravenous fluids, anti-nausea medications and pain medicine, to control the clinical signs. Lastly radiographs and an ultrasound can aid in making the diagnosis and also rule out other causes for the clinical signs. The veterinarian will decide which tests would be best for the patient. Historically the levels of amylase and lipase (the digestive enzymes of the pancreas) have been the mainstay but they can be elevated for other reasons so other tests such as the PLI (pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity) and the SPEC cPL (Specific Canine Pancreatic Lipase) have been developed. The diagnosis comes from combining the clinical signs together with blood tests. The usual signs in dogs with pancreatitis are a loss of appetite, abdominal pain, vomiting and/or diarrhea, and fever. In chronic cases, scar tissue replaces the cells and the pancreas loses the ability to function normally, which can lead to other diseases like diabetes. In acute cases, the pancreas can recover and repair. They can get out into circulation and cause inflammation in neighboring organs like the liver. Then they actually start digesting the organ itself. Whatever the inciting cause, the inflammation in the pancreas causes the digestive and metabolic enzymes that are usually stored inside to be released too early. Its main responsibilities include digestion of fats and starches through secretion of enzymes called amylase and lipase and also the regulation of blood sugar levels through secretion of hormones known as insulin and glucagon. Lying just under the stomach and along the beginning of the small intestine, known as the duodenum, the pancreas is a small pink glandular organ.
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