[3] The signs and symptoms of protein losing enteropathy include diarrhea, fever, and general abdominal discomfort.

[7] Protein losing enteropathy is a syndrome, characterized by a collection of signs and symptoms that are due to an underlying primary medical condition.

[8] Possible secondary causes of lymphangiectasis include congestive heart failure or constrictive pericarditis.

[10] The absence of proteoglycans, which are glycosaminoglycan chains attached to protein, may contribute to PLE and augment inflammatory cytokines.

[8] Imaging of the thoracic or abdominopelvic cavities may also aid in the diagnosis, possibly by identifying masses impairing lymphatic and venous drainage from the intestines and thus contributing to PLE.

Therefore, it is useful to categorize patients based on their serum albumin levels, if less than normal (typically less than 3.5 g/dL) but greater than 2.5 g/dL, this can be seen as a mild form of protein losing enteropathy.

Symptomatic management of edema with furosemide (and aldactone) can provide relief for the individual with mild hypoproteinemia.

Chronic enteropathy is one of the possible reasons for PLE and it has been shown in a study that hypoalbuminaemia is a risk factor for negative outcome and the prognosis is guarded for these dogs.

[15] Gastrointestinal lymphoma and intestinal lymphangiectasia are other diseases that can cause protein losing enteropathy in dogs.