Comparison of Oral Prednisolone, Budesonide and Probiotics in the Treatment of Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease ( IBD) is the common cause of chronic gastrointestinal signs in dogs. The treatment possesses numerous difficulties due to the idiopathic nature of the disease. Conventional steroid therapy usually produces side effects on long term usage. Thus, there is a need for alternative therapies. When compared to human medicine, there is no published data on the use of budesonide and probiotic in the treatment of canine IBD in India. The present study was proposed to compare oral prednisolone, budesonide and probiotics in the management of canine inflammatory bowel disease. Methods: Thirty dogs with idiopathic IBD were selected and randomly grouped. They were subjected to therapy involving prednisolone, budesonide or probiotics. Clinical assessment was performed by calculation of the post treatment Clinical Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity Index (CIBDAI) score, faecal score and endoscopy. Biochemical analysis of alkaline phosphatase and alanine transaminase were done to record side effects of steroid administration. Result: It was observed from the present study that both prednisolone and budesonide are equally effective in the management of IBD in dogs. Probiotics were found to be less effective when compared to prednisolone and budesonide in the treatment of IBD.