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In this retrospective university study using data from a central veterinary medical database, the proportion of diagnoses of congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSs) and the breeds at risk during a 22-year period were determined. CPSs were identified in nearly 0.2% of all dogs and in 0.05% of mixed breeds. Most dogs were 2 to 12 months of age at diagnosis. From 1980 to 2001, the proportion of CPS diagnoses increased 10-fold. In 2001, the annual proportion of CPSs compared with all diagnoses was 0.5%. The greatest number of diagnoses was in Yorkshire terriers. The highest percentage of diagnoses were in Havanese (3.2%), Yorkshire terriers (2.9%), Maltese (1.6%), Dandie Dinmont terriers (1.6%), and pugs (1.3%). The authors recommend that owners and breeders be aware of breeds at risk of CPSs and that appropriate diagnostic tests (i.e., bile acid analyses) be instituted if clinical signs exist in these dogs. Furthermore, affected dogs should also be neutered. [Note: see Tobias (2003) JAVMA for the complete article]
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