Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Calcium and magnesium levels in puppies with parvovirus infection
By Mouton, Anneri et al.·Published in American journal of veterinary research·2025·Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Calcium and magnesium abnormalities in puppies with parvoviral enteritis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of puppies with parvovirus infection (CPE) were found to have low levels of ionized calcium and high levels of total magnesium when compared to healthy puppies. The study showed that puppies who had higher calcium levels on the second day of treatment were more likely to die than those with normal calcium levels. This suggests that monitoring calcium levels could be important for the treatment of puppies with parvovirus. Unfortunately, many of these puppies faced serious health challenges, and the findings highlight the need for careful management of their blood chemistry during recovery.
People also search for: puppy parvovirus treatment · low calcium in puppies · puppy parvovirus survival rate
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between ionized calcium (iCa) and/or total magnesium (tMg) and the development of sepsis and to investigate whether iCa or tMg is associated with mortality in puppies with canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE). METHODS: 64 client-owned puppies with CPE were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. Serum iCa and tMg were measured daily from admission until death or discharge. Fifteen healthy client-owned puppies were used as controls. RESULTS: Mean iCa concentrations of the CPE group on admission were significantly lower compared to the control group (1.35 mmol/L vs 1.52 mmol/L). Ionized calcium concentrations of nonsurvivors were significantly higher compared to survivors on day 2 but not on any other days. Puppies that were hypercalcemic on day 2 were also significantly more likely to die than normocalcemic puppies (OR, 10.7; 95% CI, 1.7 to 71). Ionized calcium was not associated with the development of sepsis on any day. In contrast, mean admission tMg concentrations of the CPE group were significantly higher compared to the control group (0.72 mmol/L vs 0.63 mmol/L). However, tMg concentrations were not significantly different between survivors and nonsurvivors nor were they associated with the development of sepsis on any day. CONCLUSIONS: On admission, puppies with CPE had lower iCa and higher tMg compared to healthy puppies, and higher iCa a day after initiation of treatment was associated with increased odds of mortality. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The results of this study provide insight into calcium homeostasis in critically ill young dogs with CPE.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39549413/