BARIUM SULFATE GELATIN AS A NOVEL APPROACH TO FACILITATE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT POSITIVE CONTRAST STUDIES IN A CAPTIVE HARBOR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA) AND CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS (ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS) WITHOUT RESTRAINT.

ABSTRACT

Gastrointestinal tract contrast medium studies are a valuable diagnostic modality to evaluate gastrointestinal anatomy, motility, and pathology. Four positive contrast medium studies were performed twice on a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) and once each on two California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) to evaluate for gastrointestinal abnormalities by using barium-impregnated gelatin. Because marine mammals in human care routinely receive plain gelatin as a component of their diet and as secondary reinforcement, feeding a barium gelatin mitigates the need for tube feeding or restraint. Operant conditioning was used to position the pinnipeds for voluntary radiographs. The barium gelatin permitted adequate evaluation of gastric emptying and intestinal transit times and good evaluation of the structure of the intestinal tract. Full evaluation of gastric anatomy was limited due to the gelatin blocks not conforming to the stomach in their solid form and the barium quickly exiting the stomach as barium gelatin blocks disintegrated and because orthogonal views could not always be acquired. Even with these limitations, barium gelatin resulted in diagnostically valuable contrast imaging in a stress-free patient setting with reduced risk of aspiration and eliminated the effects that anesthesia can have on gastric motility as well as other anesthesia-associated risks.