Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Methemoglobin levels in dogs with sepsis and what it means
By Troia, Roberta et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2020·Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Circulating Methemoblogin Fraction in Dogs With Sepsis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with sepsis were found to have higher levels of methemoglobin, a substance that can indicate severe illness. In this study, 131 dogs were evaluated, and 24 of them had methemoglobin levels above the normal range. Dogs with higher levels of methemoglobin were more likely to have a poor outcome, with a higher chance of death compared to those with normal levels. This suggests that monitoring methemoglobin levels could help veterinarians assess the severity of sepsis in dogs and predict their chances of recovery.
People also search for: dog sepsis symptoms · methemoglobin levels in dogs · dog sepsis treatment · why is my dog sick · dog blood test results explained
Abstract
Large amount of nitric oxide (NO) can be released in patients with sepsis. Methemoglobin is formed from the interaction between NO and hemoglobin. Mild methemoglobinemia reflecting NO overproduction has been reported in septic people, and occasionally associated to septic shock and organ dysfunction. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate circulating methemoglobin fraction in dogs with sepsis and to assess its prognostic value. Methemoglobin reference interval (RI) was calculated in 41 healthy dogs and was set at 0-2.2%. A total of 131 dogs with sepsis were included in the study; 24/131 had a circulating methemoglobin ≥2.2%. The median methemoglobin fraction was significantly higher in dogs with sepsis compared to healthy ones (1.7%, 0.4-3.5% vs. 1.0, 0.3-2.2%,= 0.0005). No significant difference was observed between dogs with uncomplicated sepsis (= 98) vs. dogs with septic shock (= 33) (1.8%, 0.4-2.8% vs. 1.5%, 0.4-3.5%,= 0.74), between dogs with and without multi-organ dysfunction (= 38 and= 93, respectively) (1.7%, 0.4-3.5% vs. 1.7%, 0.5-2.8%,= 0.27), and between survivors (= 77) vs. non survivors (= 54) (1.5%, 0.4-2.8% vs. 1.8%, 0.4-3.5%,= 0.05). Dogs with methemoglobin fraction above or equal to the upper limit of the RI had a significantly higher frequency of death compared to dogs with methemoglobin levels <2.2% (60.0% vs. 36.8%,= 0.04). In conclusion, mild methemoglobinemia is detected in dogs with sepsis, and methemoglobin values above the RI might be associated with a worse outcome.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32656253/