THERAPEUTIC NUTRITION
THERAPEUTIC NUTRITION
Useful information about the needs of cats and dogs with nutritionally sensitive health conditions.
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Nutrition and Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) for Chronic Enteropathies
Kathrin Busch
Dr. med. vet., DECVIM-CA (Internal Medicine)
Ludwig Maximilians University
Munich, Germany
Q. What benefits can diet provide in dogs with chronic enteropathies (CE)?
A. It is known that most dogs with CE have an altered microbiome compared to healthy individuals.1 Diet has a significant short- and long-term positive impact on the composition of the intestinal microbiota.2 It can influence the mucosal immune system, intestinal permeability, and gut motility. Therefore, dietary management is the most important therapeutic measure in the treatment of dogs with CE. Even in dogs with moderate to severe disease, a clinical improvement could be achieved solely through diet change.3
Q. What happens when signs of CE persist?
A. It is crucial to recognize the underlying enteropathy often persists, even during clinical remission, with the potential for recurrence. Clinical improvement after diet change can be anticipated within 1–2 weeks. If a diet change fails to improve clinical signs, at least one more diet should be tried, including a hydrolyzed diet. Even if clinical signs do not significantly improve after trying multiple diets, maintaining the most appropriate diet is recommended. These dogs will also need to be supported by additional therapies such as fecal microbiota transplantation and/or immunosuppressive therapy.
Q. What is fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and how can it help dogs with CE?
A. FMT refers to the transfer of feces from a healthy donor into the intestine of a diseased recipient with the goal of influencing the intestinal microbiome. In veterinary medicine, FMT shortened the time to normalization of fecal consistency and hospitalization time in puppies with parvovirus infection.4 Indications for FMT currently mainly include CE and diarrhea following antibiotic use. FMT can induce a change in the intestinal microbiome, which typically disappears after 3–4 weeks. Especially in chronic gastrointestinal conditions, we recommend concurrent therapy with dietary modifications to ensure long-term success.
Q. How are donors screened?
A. An ideal fecal donor is a healthy, adult, normal-weight dog with no chronic illnesses, displaying normal behavior, not taking any medications, and particularly not having received antibiotics in the last 6 months.5
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References
Pilla, R., & Suchodolski, J. S. (2019). The role of the canine gut microbiome and metabolome in health and gastrointestinal disease. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6, 498. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00498
Wu, G. D., Chen, J., Hoffmann, C., Bittinger, K., Chen, Y. Y., Keilbaugh, S. A., Bewtra, M., Knights, D., Walters, W. A., Knight, R., Sinha, R., Gilroy, E., Gupta, K., Baldassano, R., Nessel, L., Li, H., Bushman, F. D., & Lewis, J. D. (2011). Linking long-term dietary patterns with gut microbial enterotypes. Science, 334(6052), 105-108. doi: 10.1126/science.1208344
Mandigers, P. J., Biourge, V., van den Ingh, T. S., Ankringa, N., & German, A. J. (2010). A randomized, open-label, positively-controlled field trial of a hydrolyzed protein diet in dogs with chronic small bowel enteropathy. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 24(6), 1350-1357. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2010.0632.x
Pereira, G. Q., Gomes, L. A., Santos, I. S., Alfieri, A. F., Weese, J. S., & Costa, M. C. (2018). Fecal microbiota transplantation in puppies with canine parvovirus infection. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 32(2), 707-711. doi: 10.1111/jvim.15072
Chaitman, J., & Gaschen, F. (2021). Fecal microbiota transplantation in dogs. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 51(1), 219-233. doi: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2020.09.012