Clinical features and outcomes of dogs with attempted medical management for discrete gastrointestinal foreign material: 68 cases (2018–2023)

OBJECTIVE To retrospectively describe clinical characteristics of canine gastrointestinal foreign bodies (GIFB) that were successfully and unsuccessfully managed conservatively. ANIMALS 68 client-owned dogs presented to the Texas A&M Small Animal Teaching Hospital between January 1, 2018, and October 1, 2023, for GIFB where medical management was attempted. CLINICAL PRESENTATION Medical records were reviewed for signalment, history, physical examination, bloodwork, diagnostic imaging, foreign body type, location, treatments, and outcome. Success was defined as the passage of the foreign body through the colon, while failure was defined as requiring surgery, endoscopy, or euthanasia. RESULTS Medical management was successful in 32 cases (47%; 95% CI, 0.32 to 0.66). Gastric dilation resolved in all success cases (n = 5 [100%]; 95% CI, 0.32 to 2.3) but did not resolve in any failure cases (13 [0%]). Small intestinal dilation resolved in all success cases (n = 13 [100%]; 95% CI, 0.53 to 1.7) but progressed in most failure cases (9 [75%]; 95% CI, 0.34 to 1.4). In the success group, 31 GIFB were nonlinear (96.9%; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.4), while 1 was linear (3.1%; 95% CI, 0.001 to 0.17). In the failure group, 29 GIFB were nonlinear (80.6%; 95% CI, 0.54 to 1.16), while 7 were linear (19.4%; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.4). Of the cases that elected surgery (n = 29 [42.7%]; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.61), resection and anastomosis was performed in 3 cases (10.3%; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.3). All cases that required resection and anastomosis were nonlinear GIFB. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Conservative management of GIFB provides a feasible treatment option and may be considered based on presentation, foreign body location, hemodynamic stability of the patient, diagnostic imaging, and type of foreign body.