Saccharomyces boulardii for chronic enteropathy in dogs (and cats?)
Anything that can help us sort out chronic diarrhoea in dogs and cats is welcome. As far as I’m aware this is the first properly convincing evidence of efficacy for any probiotic in this scenario.
Vet Rec. 2018 Mar 3;182(9):258. doi: 10.1136/vr.104241. Epub 2017 Dec 6.
Effect of Saccharomyces boulardii in dog with chronic enteropathies: double-blinded, placebo-controlled study.
D’Angelo S1, Fracassi F1, Bresciani F1, Galuppi R1, Diana A1, Linta N1, Bettini G1, Morini M1, Pietra M1.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29212912
The Saccharomyces dose used in this study was 1 x 10^9 colony-forming units [cfu]/kg orally every 12 hours.
Suitable preparations are readily available.
1 capsule per 5Kg bodyweight bid
This has now become part of our standard management recommendation for dogs with chronic enteropathy.
In cats the evidence is anecdotal:
…but since some diarrhoeic cats seem to be resistant to any treatment options it’s got to be worth serious consideration.