necrotising pancreatitis

[Michelle425]

My 6 year old Rott passed away from necrotising pancreatitis.
He pulled a muscle, other than that healthy as could be. The vet suggested steroids, he gave him a shot and a prescription for a week. Within 7 days he became very ill and died. Has anyone heard of a connection between steroid use and pancreatitis in rottweilers?

[Judi W]

Acute pancreatitis is usually triggered by dietary "indiscretion" as they put it. If a dog is vulnerable, it can be triggered with one meal of high fat content. Is it possible that the voracious appetite triggered by the pred could have driven him to steal something he should not have eaten? Beyond that thought, I'm afraid I've no other thoughts to offer.

[Michelle425]

We never gave him anything other than his food. The only other things is if the neighbor fed him over the fence, which she has done in the past. I didn't know that steriods caused a big appetite? Thanks :)

[Birdie'sMom]

I don't have any info for you, I just wanted to say that I am sorry about your dog's passing. May he rest in peace.

[Michelle425]

That's so sweet, thank you. He was my baby, he actually passed away a month ago. We just got a 8 week old female this week. She is german and from a great breeder. The little stinker cost a lot of money.

[k&s]

First, I am so sorry for your loss. Regarding the steroid-pancreatitis connection -- I believe steroids can cause pancreatitis. One of my dogs was on fairly high steroid dose for quite some time, and I was told to keep a look out for symptoms of pancreatitis (e.g. going off his food). Hopefully someone more knowledgable about veterinary medicine can verify whether or not this is the case.

[Michelle425]

Did your dog end up ok? See, that's what really bothers me. The vet never told us of any risks or signs to watch for. He could have just went on a muscle relaxer. I just really want to know if that contributed to his death. I'm not thinking of taking the vet to court, he's always been really good. I think that if that was the case that I should go have a talk with him and make sure that he warns others so this doesn't happen again. When my sweetie got sick the vet said that the steroids might have played a role but when he died he started to change the story.

[moondog]

I'm so sorry to hear you lost him and the sudden onset must have made it even harder.

Here's what the Merck site says about triggers for pancreatitis:

There are no well documented causes of acute pancreatitis in dogs other than parenchymal and vascular trauma, and hyperlipidemia. Ingestion of a fatty meal has always been a suspected trigger of this disorder. Hypercalcemia and certain drugs (such as azathioprine, sulfonamides, and L-asparaginase) have also been suspected but not proven causes of pancreatitis in dogs.

Was prednisone the steroid that was used?

[k&s]

I might be mixing up the caution regarding azathioprin with my notion that the prednisone (steroid) could cause pancreatitis. My dog is now on azathioprin (Imuran) and this is what my vet might have said can cause pancreatitis (so I am to look out for any loss of apetitite).

Sorry for the confusion. Thanks Moondog for setting me straight.

[spidey]

It says here that "Some common causes of pancreatitis include obesity, elevated levels of lipids in the blood, ingestion of a very fatty meal, other diseases, and steroids."

[moondog]

k&s, LOL no problem, I was (and remain) a little confused myself! I don't understand the connection between immunosuppressant drugs and pancreatitis, but it looks like there's some indication that there may be one since azathioprin was mentioned on the Merck site. Prednisone is both an anti-inflammatory and an immune suppressant, but as far as I understand, it doesn't pack quite the wallop that azathioprin does as an immune suppressant.

spidey - I just checked prednisone on rxlist.com and it does list pancreatitis as a possible gastrointestinal side effect of its use.

[Michelle425]

Thanks for all the help! My dog was not on prednisone, and I am at work right now so I can't tell you the exact name of the steriod but it started with a D. He had just been in for his check up a couple of weeks before and everything turned out great?

[spidey]

Dexamethasone?

[Michelle425]

Yes that was it! Your so good

[spidey]

Dexamathasone is listed as a precipitating factor of pancreatitis in many places, but some of the latest experimental work (which I just looked at) seems to imply that it doesn't cause it after all. Very weird. Anyway, I'm very sorry about your dog.