Proposed grading scheme for inflammatory bowel disease in ferrets and correlation with clinical signs
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic intestinal inflammatory disease that affects several species and which etiology is unknown. It is considered the most frequent disease in ferrets. Definitive diagnosis is based on microscopic evaluation of intestinal biopsies.
The need to create a universal classification scheme to evaluate the severity of IBD in ferrets is of upmost importance in establishing an effective treatment plan. Despite this, until this date, grading schemes have only been created for other species.
In this study, the usefulness of two previously formulated grading schemes was determined in ferrets. The viability of a third grading scheme was also tested and based on the correlation between clinical signs and histopathological samples in ferrets. The severity of clinical signs correlated with age and sex was also analyzed.
Twenty-three cases previously diagnosed cases of IBD in ferrets and 3 control samples were included in the study.
There was no significant correlation between the severity of clinical signs and histopathological samples in any of the 2 previously created grading schemes. The third classification scheme demonstrated a positive correlation with clinical severity. There was also a significant correlation of age and sex with severity of clinical signs, with older and female ferrets overrepresented.
This study demonstrates that previous grading schemes, used for dogs and cats can be helpful but are not entirely useful. A grading scheme adapted to ferrets and its use is important for clinicians to decide on the treatment plan for IBD.
Cazzini, P., Watson, M. K., Gottdenker, N., Mayer, J., Reavill, D., Fox, J. G., Parry, N., & Sakamoto, K. (2020). ‘Proposed grading scheme for inflammatory bowel disease in ferrets and correlation with clinical signs’, Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, 32(1), pp. 17–24.
