Clinical Signs of Portosystemic Shunts
Clinical signs are often seen at a young age and may include poor growth, behavioral changes circling, disorientation, unresponsiveness, staring into space, head pressing blind staggers), seizures, and quiet demeanor. Many of the clinical signs may be confused with puppy hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Other less common signs include diarrhea, vomiting, and excessive drinking or urinating.
In many animals the signs are seen 1-3 hours after eating meat or puppy chow. Proteins in the food are broken down by intestinal bacteria to ammonia and other toxins which are absorbed and, instead of being filtered by the liver, are allowed to reach the brain. The depression and signs are often temporary; once the proteins are emptied from the colon, the signs usually abate. Some animals may not show clinical signs until they are anesthetized to be castrated or spayed. These animals may take days to recover from anesthesia, depending on what drugs were used. Other animals show no signs until they are older, when they develop bladder and kidney problems from excreting toxins and forming urine crystals and stones. |