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Colchicine treatment in a dog with hepatoportal fibrosis
Author(s) -
Rutgers H. C.,
Haywood S.,
Batt R. M.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of small animal practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1748-5827
pISSN - 0022-4510
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-5827.1990.tb00732.x
Subject(s) - medicine , colchicine , gastroenterology , fibrosis , cirrhosis , liver biopsy , hepatic fibrosis , pathology , biopsy
A two‐year‐old female spayed English setter with hepatic encephalopathy was found to have hepatoportal fibrosis and acquired portosystemic shunts on laparotomy and liver biopsy. The dog was treated symptomatically with a low‐protein diet, lactulose and metronidazole, while colchicine was given as antifibrotic therapy. There was a gradual improvement in clinical signs and liver function until 30 months after first presentation, when the dog developed severe haematuria caused by renal infarction of unknown aetiology. Post mortem examination revealed hepatic fibrosis to be unchanged. This case illustrates that long term survival may be possible in canine hepatoportal fibrosis and suggests that colchicine may be effective in improving liver function and slowing progression of hepatic fibrosis.