Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood markers Ang-2 and VEGF in healthy dogs and dogs with SIRS
By König, Maya et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2019·Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of plasma angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor in healthy dogs and dogs with systemic inflammatory response syndrome or sepsis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis were studied to see how certain proteins in their blood could indicate their chances of recovery. The researchers found that levels of a protein called angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) were much higher in dogs with these conditions compared to healthy dogs, and higher levels were linked to worse outcomes. While Ang-2 could help predict which dogs might not survive, another protein, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), was less effective for this purpose. Overall, Ang-2 could be a helpful tool for veterinarians when assessing dogs with severe infections.
People also search for: dog sepsis symptoms · dog SIRS treatment · angiopoietin-2 in dogs · how to help a dog with sepsis · dog blood test results explained
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are regulators of endothelial permeability. OBJECTIVE: Plasma concentrations of Ang-2 and VEGF are increased in dogs with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis and are correlated with disease severity and outcome. ANIMALS: Healthy dogs (n = 18) and client-owned dogs with SIRS (n = 34) or sepsis (n = 25). METHODS: Prospective observational study. Ang-2 and VEGF concentrations in admission plasma samples were compared between healthy dogs and dogs with SIRS or sepsis, and between survivors and non-survivors. Correlations with the acute patient physiologic and laboratory evaluation (APPLE) disease severity score were examined. RESULTS: Median Ang-2 was significantly higher in dogs with SIRS (19.3; interquartile range [IQR]: 8.6-25.7 ng/mL) and sepsis (21.2; IQR: 10.3-30.1 ng/mL) compared to healthy dogs (7.6; IQR: 6.7-9.8 ng/mL). Ang-2 was significantly higher in non-survivors (24.1; IQR: 11.9-50.0 ng/mL) than survivors (10.2; IQR: 7.2-21.5 ng/mL) but did not correlate with the APPLEscore. Admission Ang-2 predicted negative outcome in dogs with SIRS and sepsis with reasonable accuracy (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.75, confidence interval [CI]: 0.59-0.85; sensitivity: 0.5, CI: 0.29-0.71; specificity: 0.87, CI: 0.75-0.95); differentiation between sepsis and SIRS was poor (AUC: 0.58). Plasma VEGF was significantly higher in dogs with sepsis (45; IQR: 14-107.5 pg/mL) than in dogs with SIRS (3.3; IQR: 0-35.6 pg/mL) or healthy dogs (0; IQR: 0 pg/mL; P = 0.008). VEGF was significantly (P = .0004) higher in non-survivors (34.5; IQR: 0-105.7 pg/mL) than in survivors (0; IQR: 0-55.2 pg/mL). The ability of VEGF to predict a negative outcome was poor. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Ang-2 may represent a useful additional prognostic marker in dogs with SIRS.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30575998/