Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Why lipase tests and ultrasound often disagree in dogs
By Hammes, Karen & Kook, Peter H·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2022·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of medical history and clinical factors on serum lipase activity and ultrasonographic evidence of pancreatitis: Analysis of 234 dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 234 dogs with gastrointestinal issues had their lipase levels (an enzyme related to pancreatitis) and ultrasound results checked to see how well they matched up. The study found that dogs with shorter durations of symptoms before seeing the vet had higher lipase levels, but this didn’t always correlate with positive ultrasound results for pancreatitis. Interestingly, dogs with a history of pancreatitis were more likely to have a positive ultrasound, even if their lipase levels weren't significantly higher. Understanding these factors can help vets better diagnose pancreatitis in dogs.
People also search for: dog pancreatitis symptoms · high lipase levels in dogs · ultrasound for dog pancreatitis · dog vomiting and diarrhea · pancreatitis treatment for dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Lipase measurements and ultrasonographic (US) evidence of pancreatitis correlate poorly. OBJECTIVES: Identify explanations for discrepant lipase and pancreatic US results. ANIMALS: Two hundred and thirty-four dogs with gastrointestinal signs. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted, in which lipase activity and US were performed within 30 hours. Medical history, clinical examination results, lipase activity, and US results were recorded. RESULTS: Lipase and US results were weakly correlated (r = .25, P < .001). At both evaluated time cut-offs, median lipase activities were significantly higher with shorter durations of clinical signs before presentation (≤2 days, 334 U/L; >2 days, 118 U/L; P = .03; ≤7 days, 334 U/L; >7 days, 99 U/L; P = .004), but US was not significantly more frequently positive. For both cut-offs (>216/≤216 U/L, >355/≤355 U/L; reference range, 24-108 U/L), median disease duration was significantly shorter (3 vs 4 days) with higher lipases. Previous pancreatitis episodes were significantly associated with an US diagnosis of pancreatitis (P = .04), but median lipase activities were not significantly higher (386 U/L vs 153 U/L; P = .06) in these dogs. Pancreatic US was significantly more often positive when the request contained "suspicion of pancreatitis" (P < .001) or "increased lipase" (P = .01). Only changes in pancreatic morphology, echogenicity, and peripancreatic mesentery were significantly associated with a positive US diagnosis, and also had significantly higher lipase activities. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Duration of clinical signs before presentation differently affects laboratory and US evidence of pancreatitis. Previous pancreatitis episodes and information given to radiologists influence US results. These findings can be helpful for future studies on pancreatitis in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35438226/