# Retrospective Study of 222 Dogs Suffering from Food-Responsive Enteropathy—Correlation with Clinical Variables, Diet and Breed

## TL;DR

This study examines how diet affects 222 dogs with food-responsive enteropathy, finding correlations between diet changes, breed, and clinical outcomes.

## Contribution

The study presents the largest cohort of dogs with food-responsive enteropathy and investigates correlations between diet, breed, and clinical variables.

## Key findings

- Significant improvements in fecal score, body condition score, and CCECAI were observed after dietary changes.
- Switching from a mixed diet to a homemade diet was directly correlated with better clinical outcomes.
- Breed-specific differences were noted only in a subgroup when transitioning from commercial to mixed diets.

## Abstract

Food-responsive enteropathy is a chronic enteropathy of dogs managed with dietary changes; frequently, in such disease, more than one dietary trial is needed to resolve the condition. No clear predispositions are reported for the disease, and the response to the diet varies from subject to subject; additionally, very little literature is available about the possible role of the diet fed before the disease onset. The present study reports the clinical progression of 222 dogs diagnosed with food-responsive enteropathy (to the authors’ knowledge, the largest cohort of FRE dogs present in the international literature as single research) and compares clinical variables with diets and breeds. The authors believe that considering the number of patients included and the variables investigated, the present study could represent a reference for future ones.

Food-responsive enteropathy (FRE) is the most frequent form of canine chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE). It can be diagnosed if, after excluding known causes of diarrhea, clinical signs resolve or significantly improve after an appropriate dietary trial. No universal diet can resolve the clinical signs in every case of FRE, as genetic predisposition and environment (e.g., the possible role of the diet feed before the disease onset) are suggested as possible players. The study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the possible correlations between disease, diet, and breed in a large cohort of dogs (n = 222) suffering from FRE. Throughout the study, dogs differed based on dietary options: commercial diet group, homemade diet group, and mixed diet group. Diet, breed, age, body weight, body condition score (BCS), fecal score (FS), canine chronic enteropathy activity index (CCECAI), and selected clinical signs were variably evaluated at T0 and at final time (FT—based on response to the diet[s], but between 30 and 60 days). Significant differences between T0 and FT were found regarding FS, BCS, and CCECAI, as well as between age, BCS, and CCECAI at FT with the FS at FT. The CCECAI at FT was significantly directly correlated only with the shift from a mixed to a homemade diet. Finally, the multiple linear regression analysis between the covariables of different breeds versus clinical response to the dietary trials did not highlight any difference except for the passage from commercial to mixed diet in a specific subgroup of breeds. The present study reports the clinical progression in 222 dogs suffering from FRE, and it could represent a reference for the variables investigated, considering the large number of patients included.