EFFECT OF TREATMENT ON THE JEJUNAL AND COLONIC BACTERIAL-FLORA OF DOGS WITH EXOCRINE PANCREATIC INSUFFICIENCY

The bacterial flora from the jejunum and colon of 19 dogs with natural ly occurring exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) was examined. In six dogs with EPI that did not receive any treatment the bacterial cou nt in the small intestine was >10(6) colony-forming units (CFU)/g. Thi s was consistent with bacterial overgrowth (BOG) (control dogs: <10(5) CFU/g). Six dogs with EPI that received pancreatic enzyme supplementa tion and were in good condition had bacterial counts (>10(6) CFU/g) th at were nonsignificantly different from the untreated group. The remai ning seven dogs with EPI that received both pancreatic enzyme suppleme ntation and oral antibiotic therapy (tylosin), had bacterial flora cou nts that were significantly lower than the values in the other two gro ups of EPI dogs, and did not differ significantly from those of the co ntrol group. There were no statistical differences between the number of bacteria in the colon among the different groups of dogs with EPI a nd the control dogs. We conclude that the prevalence of BOG in dogs wi th EPI is high. Pancreatic enzyme supplementation did not affect the m icroflora of dogs with naturally occurring EPI. Oral antibiotic therap y with tylosin, however, effectively decreased BOG in these dogs.