~ 76 ~ International Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry 2018; 3(3): 76-81 ISSN: 2456-2912 VET 2018; 3(3): 76-81 © 2018 VET www.veterinarypaper.com Received: 15-03-2018 Accepted: 16-04-2018 A Kokila Priya Post Graduate Student, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India M Balagangatharathilagar Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India D Chandrasekaran Assistant Professor, Department of Clinics, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India M Parthiban Professor, Department of Animal Biotechnology, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India R Venkataramanan Assistant Professor, Post Graduate Research Institute in Animal Sciences, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Correspondence A Kokila Priya Post Graduate Student, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Prognostic indicators of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis in puppies A Kokila Priya, M Balagangatharathilagar, D Chandrasekaran, M Parthiban and R Venkataramanan Abstract Canine haemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) is a common condition manifested by vomiting and diarrhoea in puppies. The aim of the study was to identify the prognostic markers in puppies below 6 months of age with HGE. A total of ten apparently healthy puppies were taken as positive control (Group I). Stool sample obtained from sixty two affected puppies were screened using polymerised chain reaction for infectious agents and classified as follows, puppies with viral enteritis (Group II, n=forty one), bacterial enteritis (Group III, n=six), combined bacterial and viral enteritis (Group IV, n=fifteen). Among the clinical parameters the total WBC, serum albumin, potassium, blood lactate and blood pressure were statistically highly significant (P≤0.01). A total WBC count ≤4100 cu.mm, serum albumin concentration of <2 g/dL, serum potassium of ≤3.4 mEq/L, blood lactate levels of >3.2 mmol/L and systolic blood pressure of ≤90 mmHg were identified as the prognostic values Their interquartile range and median values will be discussed critically. Keywords: Canine haemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE), infectious cause, clinical parameters, prognostic levels 1. Introduction Acute haemorrhagic diarrhoea is one of the most serious clinical manifestations of the GI failure faced by small animal practitioners (Dow, 1996) [4] . Haemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) is an acute, severe form of diarrhea that occurs in dogs. Infectious agents associated with diarrhoea in young dogs are typically bacterial or viral (Magne, 2006) [10] . HGE syndrome is characterised by the acute onset of bloody diarrhoea and vomiting accompanied by marked haemoconcentration Unterer et al. (2011) [14] . Identification of various haematobiochemical parameters in survivors and non-survivors of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis will help in arriving at better prognostication. 2. Materials and methods Puppies below 6 months of age presented with the history of progressive vomiting and haemorrhagic diarrhoea were subjected for faecal PCR and haematobiochemical tests. The apparently healthy puppies found negative for enteropathogens and their toxins were selected to serve as Group I- healthy control (n=ten). Faecal samples from affected puppies were screened for the common enteropathogens such as Escherichia coli – Shiga and enterotoxin (LT), Clostridium perfringens – alpha and enterotoxin (cpa and cpe) Clostridium difficile and its toxin B, Salmonella sp., Campylobacter sp., Canine Parvovirus strain 2b (CPV-2b), Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), Enteric Canine Coronavirus (CCoV) and Rotavirus. They were classified into various groups based on the underlying etiology as follows: Group II: puppies with viral enteritis (n=forty one), Group III: puppies with bacterial enteritis (n=six) and Group IV: puppies with combined bacterial and viral enteritis (n=fiffteen). The haematobiochemical parameters were interpreted among the survivors and non-survivors of each group. 2.1 Haematology and Serum Biochemical Profiling About 3 ml of blood samples were collected from each puppy by venepuncture of either the cephalic or the jugular vein.