Clinical evaluation of a nutraceutical diet as an adjuvant to pharmacological treatment in dogs affected by epiphora

Abstract

Epiphora is defined as tear overflow due to impaired tear drainage by way of the nasolacrimal duct. We evaluated a combined therapeutic approach for epiphora based on drug and a commercially available nutraceutical diet administration over a 30 days period in dogs poorly responsive or unresponsive to the only immune-suppressive treatment. Forty-five client-owned household dogs of different breeds (19 females and 31 males) and aged 6.5 years were enrolled. Schirmer tear test-1, conjunctival inflammation, corneal keratinization and blepahritis were evaluated before and at the end of the evaluation. Schirmer’s test value significantly decreased from 22.96 ± 0.37 mm, at T0 to 18.86 ± 0.24 mm, at T30 (***p < 0.001), conjunctival inflammation significantly decreased from 1.30 ± 0.11, at T0 to 0.14 ± 0.04 at T30 (***p < 0.001), corneal keratinization significantly decreased from a T0 value of 0.17 ± 0.05 to a T30 value of 0.07 ± 0.03 (*p < 0.05) and blepharitis significantly decreased from 0.64 ± 0.1, at T0 to 0.03 ± 0.02 at T30 (***p < 0.001). This clinical evaluation represents the first evidence of the usefulness of a specific nutraceutical diet as a reliable tool to improve pharmacological treatment of epiphora.