Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Urine and blood tests to detect low adrenal hormone in dogs
By Fracassi, Federico et al.·Published in American journal of veterinary research·2025·Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison of urinary cortisol, urinary cortisol-to-creatinine ratio, and basal serum cortisol as screening tests for hypoadrenocorticism in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that measuring urinary cortisol levels can effectively help diagnose hypoadrenocorticism (HA), a condition where a dog's adrenal glands don't produce enough hormones. In the study, dogs with HA had very low urinary cortisol levels, which showed 100% sensitivity, meaning it correctly identified all dogs with the condition. This test performed similarly to another method that measures serum cortisol levels, but with better specificity, making it a reliable option for vets. Using urinary cortisol as a screening test could help catch this condition early in dogs.
People also search for: dog adrenal gland disease symptoms · hypoadrenocorticism treatment for dogs · urinary cortisol test for dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study investigates whether urinary cortisol (UC) and UC-to-creatinine ratio (UCCR) perform better than basal serum cortisol (BSC) in identifying dogs with hypoadrenocorticism (HA). METHODS: A retrospective, multicenter study with 120 client-owned dogs included: 20 with HA, 42 healthy, and 60 with diseases mimicking HA. The UC and UCCR were determined on urine samples using a chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay. The diagnostic performance of the UC and UCCR were assessed based on receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. RESULTS: A cutoff value of UC < 2 µg/dL revealed 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 83.2 to 100) and 90.0% specificity (95% CI, 79.5 to 96.2) in diagnosing HA. A cutoff value of UCCR < 8.5 X 10-6 revealed 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 83.1 to 100) and 71.7% specificity (95% CI, 58.6 to 82.6) in diagnosing HA. A cutoff value of BSC < 2 µg/dL and < 1 µg/dL revealed 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 83.2 to 100) and 51.7% specificity (95% CI, 38.5 to 64.8) and 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 83.9 to 100) and 90% specificity (95% CI, 79.8 to 95.3) in diagnosing HA, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: BSC < 1 µg/dL showed the same sensitivity but higher specificity than BSC < 2 µg/dL. The UC < 2 µg/dL showed noninferior performance compared with the BSC < 1 µg/dL. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: UC should be considered a promising screening test for canine HA.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39842128/