Urinary cortisol-creatinine ratio in dogs with hypoadrenocorticism.

BACKGROUND: Basal serum cortisol (BSC) ≥2 µg/dL (>55 nmol/L) has high sensitivity but low specificity for hypoadrenocorticism (HA). OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the urinary corticoid:creatinine ratio (UCCR) can be used to differentiate dogs with HA from healthy dogs and those with diseases mimicking HA (DMHA). ANIMALS: Nineteen healthy dogs, 18 dogs with DMHA, and 10 dogs with HA. METHODS: Retrospective study. The UCCR was determined on urine samples from healthy dogs, dogs with DMHA, and dogs with HA. The diagnostic performance of the UCCR was assessed based on receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves, calculating the area under the ROC curve. RESULTS: The UCCR was significantly lower in dogs with HA (0.65 × 10-6 ; range, 0.33-1.22 × 10-6 ) as compared to healthy dogs (3.38 × 10-6 ; range, 1.11-17.32 × 10-6 ) and those with DMHA (10.28 × 10-6 ; range, 2.46-78.65 × 10-6 ) (P < .0001). There was no overlap between dogs with HA and dogs with DMHA. In contrast, 1 healthy dog had a UCCR value in the range of dogs with HA. The area under the ROC curve was 0.99. A UCCR cut-off value of <1.4 yielded 100% sensitivity and 97.3% specificity in diagnosing HA. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The UCCR seems to be a valuable and reliable screening test for HA in dogs. The greatest advantage of this test is the need for only a single urine sample.

Development and assessment of a novel precordial lead system for accurate detection of right atrial and ventricular depolarization in dogs with various thoracic conformations.

OBJECTIVE: To assess recording accuracy of right atrial and ventricular depolarization during 12-lead ECG when precordial lead V1 was positioned at each of 5 locations on the thorax of dogs with various thoracic conformations. ANIMALS: 60 healthy client-owned dogs. PROCEDURES: 20 dogs were allocated to each of 3 groups (brachymorphic, mesomorphic, or dolichomorphic) on the basis of thoracic conformation. Each dog remained unsedated and was positioned in right lateral recumbency for a series of five 12-lead surface ECGs, with V1 located adjacent to the sternum in the fifth intercostal space (ICS; control), at the costochondral junction (CCJ) of the right first ICS (1st-R), at the CCJ of the right third ICS, at the right third ICS where the thorax was the widest, and at the CCJ of the left first ICS. Electrocardiographic variables were compared among the 5 ECG tracings. RESULTS: When V1 was at the control location, the P wave was positive for all dogs; however, consistent recording of right atrial and ventricular depolarization (ie, R wave-to-S wave ratio [R/S] < 1) occurred more frequently for brachymorphic dogs (16/20) than for dolichomorphic (7/20) and mesomorphic (6/20) dogs. When V1 was at the 1st-R location, the P wave was negative for most dogs, and R/S was < 1 for the majority of dogs in the brachymorphic (19/20), mesomorphic (17/20), and dolichomorphic (16/20) groups. The median R/S for V1 at the 1st-R location was significantly lower than that for the other 4 V1 locations. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that placement of V1 at the 1st-R location provided correct evaluation of right atrial and ventricular depolarization in most dogs regardless of thoracic conformation.

Case-control study of plasma mean platelet component concentration and survival analysis for dogs with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether dogs with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) had a low plasma mean platelet component (MPC) concentration and whether MPC was associated with outcome. DESIGN Retrospective case-control study and survival analysis. ANIMALS 95 dogs with IMHA (cases) as well as 95 healthy dogs and 95 sick dogs without IMHA (controls) matched to cases by age, reproductive status, and breed. PROCEDURES Plasma MPC concentration at initial examination was compared among groups. For dogs with IMHA only, sex, age, serum urea and bilirubin concentrations, Hct, platelet count, and plasma fibrinogen, D-dimer, and MPC concentrations were evaluated for associations with survival to 42 days after initial examination. RESULTS Plasma MPC concentration was significantly lower in dogs with IMHA than in the other 2 dog groups. In dogs with IMHA, plasma MPC concentration was the only factor significantly associated with outcome. The optimal plasma MPC concentration cutoff value for predicting nonsurvival of dogs with IMHA was 19.1 g/dL; values ≤ 19.1 g/dL were associated with nonsurvival. Likewise, the survival curve for dogs with plasma MPC concentrations ≤ 19.1 g/dL differed significantly from that for dogs with values > 19.1 g/dL. The mean estimated risk of death for dogs with IMHA decreased by 16% for every unit increase in plasma MPC concentration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE In dogs with IMHA, platelets appeared to have been activated to a greater degree, as determined by lower plasma MPC concentrations, than in healthy dogs or sick dogs without IMHA. Plasma MPC concentration at initial examination may be useful for predicting prognosis in dogs with IMHA.

Determining optimal therapy of dogs with chronic enteropathy by measurement of serum citrulline.

BACKGROUND: Serum concentration of citrulline is a useful biomarker in human intestinal disease and indicates globally reduced enterocyte mass and absorptive function in various disease states. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether serum citrulline concentration is a biomarker in chronic enteropathy (CE) in dogs, to provide useful information regarding optimal treatment or to predict outcome. ANIMALS: Seventy-four dogs with CE and 83 breed- and age-matched hospital controls with no clinical signs of intestinal disease. METHODS: Retrospective study. Outcome was determined and dogs were categorized by response to treatment as having food-responsive enteropathy (FRE), antibiotic-responsive diarrhea (ARD), or idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Disease severity was quantified by the CIBDAI scoring index. RESULTS: Serum citrulline concentration did not differ between dogs with CE (median, 8.4 µg/mL, 5th-95th percentile 2.0-19.6) and controls (median, 8.1 µg/mL, 5th-95th percentile 2.2-19.7, P = .91). Serum citrulline concentration was similar between dogs with FRE (median, 9.1 µg/mL, 5th-95th percentile 2.0-18.9), ARD (median, 13.0 µg/mL, 5th-95th percentile 1.6-19.2), IBD (median, 8.4 µg/mL, 5th-95th percentile 2.1-21.0; P = .91). Serum citrulline did not correlate to CIBDAI or to serum albumin concentration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: In our study, serum citrulline concentration was not associated with efficacy of treatment or outcome in dogs with CE.

Agarose gel serum protein electrophoresis in cats with and without lymphoma and preliminary results of tandem mass fingerprinting analysis.

BACKGROUND: Serum electrophoretic profiles in cats are poorly characterized with respect to the proteins that comprise the globulin fractions, and interpretation of the electrophoretograms is routinely done in the absence of information about identity of the proteins found within each fraction. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to compare protein fractions separated by serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) in healthy cats and in cats with lymphoma and to confirm some component proteins in the major fractions following SPE using tandem mass fingerprinting analysis (TMFA). METHODS: Total protein concentration was measured and agarose gel SPE performed on serum from 14 healthy cats and 14 cats with lymphoma. The absolute protein concentration within each fraction was compared between the 2 groups. Bands corresponding to the SPE fractions were excised from the gels of 2 control cats and 1 cat with lymphoma and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Results were compared with sequences in the National Center for Biotechnology Information protein database. RESULTS: Median albumin concentrations were significantly decreased and median ß-globulin concentrations were significantly increased in cats with lymphoma. Narrow electrophoretic spikes were present in the ß/γ-globulin fraction in 3 cats with lymphoma. Following TMFA, multiple proteins were identified in each fraction, and their mobility agreed with results from previous studies generated using alternative techniques. Inter-α (globulin) inhibitor 4 was identified in feline serum for the first time. CONCLUSIONS: Cats with lymphoma had lower albumin and higher ß-globulin concentrations than did healthy cats. Despite limitations of one-dimensional agarose gel SPE, TMFA provided preliminary data to confirm the protein components of the various fractions.