Investigation of serum cortisol concentration as a potential prognostic marker in hospitalized dogs: a prospective observational study in a primary care animal hospital.

BACKGROUND: Dogs with various medical diseases are usually treated at hospitals; however, the prognostic markers in dogs remain unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of serum cortisol concentration (SCC) to predict the prognosis of dogs with medical diseases. At 0 and 24 h after hospitalization, the neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, blood glucose concentration, and SCC were measured. Survival for 30 days from the time of hospitalization was investigated, and the dogs were divided into a survivor group and a non-survivor group. RESULTS: The neutrophil count at 24 h, SCC at 24 h, increase in SCC from 0 to 24 h (Inc-SCC), and the rate of increase in SCC from 0 to 24 h (R-Inc-SCC) were significantly higher in the non-survivor group than in the survivor group. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve values for the neutrophil count at 24 h, SCC at 24 h, Inc-SCC, and R-Inc-SCC were 0.695, 0.72, 0.63, and 0.66, respectively. Using the highest area under the ROC curve value, the sensitivity and specificity of SCC at a cutoff level of 6.6 µg/dL for predicting mortality were 89.5 and 61.9%, respectively. Moreover, the Kaplan-Meier curves confirmed the significant prognostic influence of SCC at 24 h. CONCLUSIONS: SCC as a marker of stress is a useful biomarker for predicting the prognosis of dogs with medical diseases requiring hospital treatment.

A Clinical Investigation on Serum Amyloid A Concentration in Client-Owned Healthy and Diseased Cats in a Primary Care Animal Hospital.

Although measurement of serum amyloid A (SAA) concentration in client-owned cats has already been shown to be clinically useful, limited data are available on common diseases at primary care hospitals. In this study, we measured the SAA concentration in cats with various diseases and investigated their clinical significance using a primary care hospital as a population. We measured the SAA concentrations in healthy cats (n = 98) and those with various clinical signs (n = 444). The SAA concentrations in healthy cats did not differ significantly by age, breed, sex, and presence/absence of neutering/spaying. The SAA concentrations were significantly higher in the diseased cat group than in the healthy cat group (p < 0.001). We observed significant increases in SAA concentrations in cats with confirmed diagnosis of inflammatory disease such as upper respiratory tract infections (p < 0.001), pneumonia (p < 0.001), pyometra (p = 0.001), and feline infectious peritonitis (p < 0.001), compared with those observed in healthy cats. Conversely, no increase was observed in cardiomyopathy, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes mellitus without systemic inflammation. In univariate analysis, survival at 30 days (p = 0.03) differed significantly between the low and high SAA concentration groups, but not at 180 days. In multivariate analysis, survival at 30 days did not significantly affect SAA concentration. Measurement of SAA concentration is a useful biomarker for detecting the presence or absence of inflammation in diseased cats. However, it may not be useful as a biomarker for determining the prognosis of the disease.

Complete Remission of Associative Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in a Dog Following Surgical Resection of Intestinal Leiomyosarcoma.

A twelve-year-old male castrated Chihuahua with a severe, microcytic, hypochromic, and nonregenerative direct antiglobulin test positive anemia characterized by marked spherocytosis was referred to the veterinary hospital. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a peritoneal mass of unclear origin. Transfusion, followed by mass resection, rapidly resolved the anemia without further immunosuppressive treatment. Histopathology confirmed extraluminal jejunal leiomyosarcoma. Multiple mechanisms, including immune-mediated destruction, likely contributed to the anemia. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report that describes the resolution of immune-mediated hemolysis in a dog after the removal of an intestinal neoplasm.

Resolution of reactive arthritis after splenectomy in a dog with a nonneoplastic splenic hyperplastic nodule.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 10-year-old spayed female Golden Retriever was examined because of a 3-month history of lethargy, anorexia, and stumbling gait. CLINICAL FINDINGS: A splenic mass was identified on abdominal radiography and ultrasonography, and results of clinicopathologic findings indicated nonregenerative anemia, leukocytosis, and high serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration. To further investigate the cause of the dog's high serum CRP concentration, radiography and arthrocentesis were performed bilaterally on the carpal and stifle joints. On the basis of results, anemia of chronic disease associated with polyarthritis caused by the localized splenic mass was suspected. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: After splenectomy, there were improvements in the dog's clinical signs, polyarthritis, nonregenerative anemia, and serum CRP concentration. The splenic mass was histologically diagnosed as a nonneoplastic splenic hyperplastic nodule with evidence of omental adhesion. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings indicated that nonneoplastic splenic hyperplastic nodules could result in reactive polyarthritis, although such nodules have not to our knowledge been described previously as an underlying cause of polyarthritis. Therefore, veterinarians should investigate for nonneoplastic splenic hyperplastic nodules in addition to other typical underlying causes when treating dogs with polyarthritis.