Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog symptoms and lipase levels after acute pancreatitis hospital stay
By Kook, Peter H·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2025·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Evaluation of Hyperlipasemia and Clinical Signs in 106 Dogs After Hospitalization for Acute Pancreatitis: Results From a Combined Retrospective and Prospective Follow-Up Study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 106 dogs that were hospitalized for acute pancreatitis (AP) were monitored for two weeks after discharge to see how their lipase levels (an enzyme related to pancreas health) correlated with their clinical signs. Surprisingly, most dogs with elevated lipase levels showed no or only mild symptoms, suggesting that high lipase doesn't always mean a dog is feeling unwell. The study found that older dogs were more likely to have elevated lipase levels, but many still appeared healthy. This indicates that while monitoring lipase is important, it may not always reflect how a dog is feeling after an episode of pancreatitis.
People also search for: dog pancreatitis symptoms · elevated lipase in dogs · dog recovery after pancreatitis
Abstract
BACKGROUND: No data after hospitalization for acute pancreatitis (AP) in dogs comparing clinical signs to lipase results exists. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate disease severity, lipase activity, and pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (PLI) after hospitalization for suspected AP. ANIMALS: One hundred and six client-owned dogs with a minimum of one re-check 2 weeks after hospitalization for AP. METHODS: Combined retrospective and prospective study. Clinical signs graded using a clinical disease activity score (CDAS = CIBDAI complemented by abdominal pain) were compared to DGGR-lipase activity (LIPC Roche) and PLI (SpecPL) at 2 weeks (t, n = 106) after discharge. Additional re-checks were available 6 weeks (t, n = 56), 12 weeks (t, n = 24), and 24 weeks (t, n = 13) after discharge. RESULTS: Lipase activity and PLI correlated strongly at all time points (r0.863-0.937, p < 0.0001). Discordant results in regard to published reference intervals (RI) were rare (2.8% at t, 1.7% at t, 4.2% at t, 0% at t) and seemed clinically irrelevant. Dogs with still elevated lipase activity and PLI at t(24/106.22.6%) and t(21/56.37.5%) were significantly older compared to dogs with lipase within RI. Weak and moderate correlation between CDAS and lipase activity/PLI was found only at t(r0.391, p = 0.0009; r0.279, p = 0.004) and t(r0.603, p = 0.032; r0.57 p = 0.045). Most dogs (79.2%) with still elevated lipase at thad no or minimal clinical signs (CDAS 0-3). The same applied to all later re-checks. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Both lipase assays did not differ when compared to clinical status. Most dogs with hyperlipasemia after hospitalization for AP have no or minimal clinical signs.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40747549/