A Study on Prevalence and Clinico-pathological Findings Associated with Ascites in Dogs

Canine ascites is a common illness with multiple aetiologies. However, the involvement of various etiological factors is making therapeutic management extremely difficult for the clinicians. The present study was conducted on dogs with distension of abdomen at Veterinary Clinical Complex, College of Veterinary Sciences, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Assam, India, to study the prevalence of the disease with respect to primary organ involvement in the pathogenesis of ascites and hemato-biochemical changes. The blood samples from the dogs were collected for hemato-biochemical analysis. Routine blood smear, fecal smear examination, ultrasonography and echocardiography of all the ascetic dogs were carried out to find out the exact etiology of ascites. Out of the total 7788 dogs assessed throughout the period from August, 2022 to January, 2023, 32 dogs (0.41%) developed ascites. The highest prevalence of ascites 53.12% was recorded in the dogs of above 6 years of age and breed wise Labrador breed (34.37%) of dogs were most commonly affected. Most of the ascites cases were found to be largely due to liver diseases (34.37%); 31.25% were due to congestive heart failure, 21.87% due to infectious causes and 12.50% due to kidney disease. The hemato-biochemical analysis revealed anemia, mild leukocytosis, hypoproteinaemia, hypoalbuminemia, hyperbilirubinemia, increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspertate aminotransferase(AST), lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine level in the ascitic dogs.