Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vitamin D levels in critically ill dogs in ICU and outcomes
By Cazzolli, Dava M et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary emergency and critical care (San Antonio, Tex. : 2001)·2019·Department of Emergency and Critical Care, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in a heterogeneous canine ICU population.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of critically ill dogs in an intensive care unit (ICU) had their vitamin D levels checked, and it was found that about 25% had low levels of this important nutrient. The study showed that dogs who survived their hospital stay had higher vitamin D levels compared to those who did not survive. While there was a weak link between vitamin D levels and how sick the dogs were, it suggests that low vitamin D might be a concern for critically ill pets. More research is needed to understand how vitamin D affects recovery in dogs.
People also search for: dog ICU low vitamin D levels · critically ill dog survival rates · vitamin D for sick dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) concentrations in critically ill dogs and determine whether vitamin D concentration measured at admission correlates with illness severity and patient outcome. DESIGN: Prospective observational study from December 2013 to July 2014. SETTING: Private referral teaching hospital ICU. ANIMALS: One hundred eleven critically ill dogs admitted to the ICU, and 28 apparently healthy control dogs. INTERVENTIONS: Measurement of 25-OH-D concentration and assessment of physiological parameters required to calculate illness severity scores. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Blood was sampled to measure serum 25-OH-D concentration, point-of-care laboratory data (packed cell volume, total plasma protein, venous blood gas, electrolytes, plasma lactate, and blood glucose concentration), platelet count, and serum albumin within 12 hours of admission. Primary disease etiologies were determined. Mentation score, Acute Patient Physiologic and Laboratory Evaluation (APPLE) fast score, length of ICU hospitalization, and survival to discharge were recorded. Low serum 25-OH-D concentrations were detected in 25% (28/111) of the ICU cohort; 25-OH-D concentrations (median; IQR) (89.2; 26.3 ng/mL [222; 140.0 nmol/L]) were significantly lower in hospitalized dogs compared with the healthy cohort (127.5; 44.5 ng/mL [318; 111.0 nmol/L]) (P < 0.0001). Serum 25-OH-D concentrations had a weak positive correlation with albumin (r = 0.34, P = 0.0003), but not with any other blood analyte evaluated. Serum concentration of 25-OH-D was also weakly correlated with APPLEscore (r = 0.31, P = 0.001). 25-OH-D concentrations (median; IQR) were significantly higher in ICU dogs that survived to discharge (95.5; 55 ng/mL [238; 137 nmol/L]) compared with nonsurvivors (60.0; 54 ng/mL [149; 135 nmol/L]; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Low serum 25-OH-D was recorded in one-quarter of critically ill dogs, and was significantly lower in nonsurvivors in comparison to survivors. There was weak correlation between serum 25-OH-D and illness severity. Further studies are required to clarify relationships between vitamin D status and outcome.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31637855/