Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
No clear link between symptoms and lab tests in dogs
By Boretti, F S et al.·Published in Schweizer Archiv fur Tierheilkunde·2016·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Lack of association between clinical signs and laboratory parameters in dogs with hyperadrenocorticism before and during trilostane treatment.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with hyperadrenocorticism (HAC), a condition caused by excess cortisol, were treated with a medication called trilostane. Owners reported various symptoms like increased appetite and weight gain, but these signs didn’t consistently match the dogs' cortisol levels, which were measured through tests. In fact, half of the dogs needed their trilostane dosage adjusted from once daily to twice daily during treatment. This suggests that while trilostane is effective, monitoring symptoms alone may not accurately reflect how well the treatment is working.
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Abstract
Trilostane therapy, the treatment of choice for pituitary- dependent hyperadrenocorticism (HAC) in dogs, is monitored by assessing resolution of clinical signs and measuring adrenocortical reserve capacity with an ACTH-stimulation test. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate agreement between clinical signs reported by owners and cortisol or ACTH concentrations before and during trilostane therapy (starting dose 1-2 mg/kg once daily). A questionnaire on signs of HAC was used and a clinical score calculated as the sum of the 9 questions. Eighteen questionnaires at diagnosis and 97 during therapy were filled out by owners of 32 dogs. An ACTH-stimulation test was performed at each reevaluation. There were weak correlations between abdominal girth, appetite or weight gain and cortisol concentrations during therapy. However, the clinical score did not correlate with cortisol or cACTH values. In 50% of dogs, trilostane application had to be changed from once daily to twice daily during the study. Clinical signs reported by owners matched poorly with cortisol or cACTH concentrations at any time point. If low-dose trilostane is used, treatment frequency often has to be increased.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27655162/