Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How vets diagnose hypothyroidism in sighthounds and thyroid levels
By Shiel, Robert E et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2010·School of Agriculture·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Assessment of criteria used by veterinary practitioners to diagnose hypothyroidism in sighthounds and investigation of serum thyroid hormone concentrations in healthy Salukis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how veterinarians diagnose hypothyroidism in sighthounds, like Salukis, and found that many diagnoses were made based on low thyroid hormone levels alone, without enough supporting tests. In fact, only a small number of dogs had additional evidence, like high TSH levels, to confirm the diagnosis. Healthy Salukis showed different thyroid hormone levels compared to standard reference ranges, suggesting that breed-specific guidelines are needed for accurate interpretation. This means that if your sighthound is showing symptoms of hypothyroidism, it’s important to ensure your vet uses the right reference values for their breed.
People also search for: sighthound hypothyroidism symptoms · Saluki thyroid hormone levels · dog thyroid testing results
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess use of serum thyroid hormone concentrations by veterinarians to diagnose hypothyroidism in sighthounds and to evaluate serum thyroid hormone concentrations in healthy Salukis. DESIGN: Retrospective case series and cross-sectional study. ANIMALS: 398 sighthounds of various breeds with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism and 283 healthy Salukis. PROCEDURES: Pretreatment thyroid hormone assay results from sighthounds subsequently classified as hypothyroid by practitioners were retrieved from a laboratory database. In healthy Salukis, serum concentrations of total thyroxine (T(4)), free T(4), total triiodothyronine (T(3)), free T(3), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and antibodies against thyroglobulin and thyroid hormones were assayed. RESULTS: Records indicated hypothyroidism had been diagnosed in 303 (76.1%) sight-hounds on the basis of low serum thyroid hormone concentrations alone and in 30 (7.5%) others despite all thyroid hormone indices being within reference limits. Only 65 (16.3%) dogs had a high TSH concentration or positive thyroglobulin autoantibody result to support the diagnosis. In healthy Salukis, median (reference limits) serum concentrations of total T(4), free T(4), total T(3), free T(3), and TSH were 13.0 nmol/L (2.8 to 40.0 nmol/L), 12.0 pmol/L (2.0 to 30.3 pmol/L), 1.0 nmol/L (0.4 to 2.1 nmol/L), 4.0 pmol/L (1.6 to 7.7 pmol/L), and 0.18 ng/mL (0 to 0.86 ng/mL), respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Diagnosis of hypothyroidism by practitioners was most often made without adequate supportive laboratory evidence. Thyroid hormone values in healthy Salukis differed markedly from standard reference limits for some, but not all, thyroid hormone indices. Breed-specific reference limits should be used when interpreting thyroid hormone profiles of sighthounds.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20113242/