Bilious Vomiting Syndrome in Dogs: Retrospective Study of 20 Cases (2002-2012)

Bilious vomiting syndrome (BVS) is a condition historically associated with early morning vomiting of bile, but it is otherwise poorly characterized. The vomiting is thought to result from a reflux of duodenal fluid into the gastric lumen causing mucosal irritation. Medical records from Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (CSUVTH) were searched for "canine" and "bilious vomiting syndrome" between 2002 and 2012. Visual inspection confirmed a diagnosis of BVS during the case history. The diagnosis remained BVS for the duration of the dog's contact with the hospital in 17 cases. Therapy involved frequent feedings, late evening meals, gastric acid reducers, prokinetics, and gastroprotectants. Twelve dogs improved with therapy. Five dogs did not improve or were lost to follow-up. The diagnosis of BVS was supplanted in three cases with gastric adenocarcinoma, dietary indiscretion, and hepatopathy. The patient most likely given a diagnosis of BVS would be a young, mixed-breed, castrated male dog with a chronic history of vomiting bile. Response to therapy suggests abnormal gastrointestinal motility, local gastritis, gastric pH, or stimulation of the emetic center may be important factors in BVS. Dogs diagnosed with BVS rarely received a diagnostic evaluation sufficient to qualify it as a diagnosis of exclusion.