Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Case Report: Persistent Moderate-to-Severe Creatine Kinase Enzyme Activity Elevation in a Subclinical Dog
- Journal:
- Frontiers in Veterinary Science
- Year:
- 2021
- Authors:
- Melissa Gunther et al.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old male mixed breed dog was taken to the vet for a routine check-up, where they found that a blood enzyme called creatine kinase (CK) was much higher than normal. Despite this finding, the dog showed no signs of being unwell, like being very tired, not eating, or having trouble moving. The vet ran tests to check for infections that could cause muscle problems and started treatment with an antibiotic, but the CK levels stayed high. Further tests like an echocardiogram and muscle tests were suggested, but the owner decided not to proceed with them. Over the next five years, the dog continued to be healthy with normal check-ups, even though the high CK levels persisted, suggesting a possible underlying muscle condition that hasn't been documented in other pets before.
Abstract
A 4-year-old, male-castrated, mixed breed dog was presented for a routine wellness examination at which time a moderate increase in serum creatine kinase (CK) enzyme activity (hyperCKemia) (15,137 IU/L; reference interval 10–200 IU/L), and moderate increases in alanine transaminase and aspartate aminotransferase enzyme activities were first identified. There was no history of clinical abnormalities (e.g., lethargy, lameness, anorexia, dysphagia, weakness, gait abnormalities, or exercise intolerance) and the physical examination was unremarkable. The dog was screened for several relevant potential infectious diseases known to cause inflammatory myopathies and was treated empirically with clindamycin. The serum total CK enzyme activity remained increased, which prompted recommendations for an echocardiogram, electromyogram (EMG), and muscle biopsy acquisition. The echocardiogram and electrocardiographic monitoring were unremarkable. The EMG and muscle biopsies were declined by the owner. The dog was evaluated several times in the subsequent 5 years and remained subclinical with unremarkable physical examinations despite a persistent moderate-to-severe hyperCKemia. Differential diagnoses considered most likely in this dog were an occult/latent hereditary muscular dystrophic disorder or idiopathic hyperCKemia, a phenomenon not yet reported in the veterinary literature. This report describes for the first time, clinical and diagnostic features of a subclinical dog with persistent moderate-to-severe hyperCKemia.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/34760961