Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Normal blood and urine metanephrine levels in dogs for tumor diagnosis
By van den Berg, Marit F et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2023·Department of Clinical Sciences, Netherlands·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Reference intervals for plasma, urinary, and salivary concentrations of free metanephrines in dogs: Relevance to the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with suspected pheochromocytoma (a type of tumor) had their blood, urine, and saliva tested for specific substances called free metanephrines. The study found that dogs with this tumor had much higher levels of one of these substances, called normetanephrine, compared to dogs with other conditions. This means that measuring normetanephrine can be a very effective way to diagnose pheochromocytoma in dogs. The results help veterinarians better understand how to test for this condition and improve diagnosis.
People also search for: dog pheochromocytoma symptoms · how to test for pheochromocytoma in dogs · dog tumor blood test results
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Measurement of free metanephrines is recommended for screening of pheochromocytoma (PCC) but requires appropriate reference intervals (RIs). HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To report RIs for plasma, urinary and salivary concentrations of free metanephrines and to determine the diagnostic performance of plasma free normetanephrine (pNMN) and metanephrine (pMN) concentrations in dogs with PCC, hypercortisolism (HC), and nonadrenal illness (NAI). ANIMALS: Eighty healthy dogs, 11 PCC dogs, 25 HC dogs, 6 NAI dogs. METHODS: Plasma, urine, and saliva were collected prospectively from healthy dogs, and free metanephrine concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, medical records of dogs that had plasma free metanephrine concentrations measured by LC-MS/MS between 2018-2021 were studied retrospectively. RESULTS: The RIs for free metanephrines in plasma, urine and saliva are reported. Dogs with PCC had significantly higher pNMN than dogs with HC (P < .001) and NAI (P = .002). The PCC dogs had significantly higher pMN than HC dogs (P < .001), but not higher than NAI dogs (P = .29). Using the upper reference limit, pNMN (>3.56 nmol/L) showed high sensitivity (100%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 72-100) and specificity (94%, 95% CI: 79-99) for diagnosis of PCC, whereas pMN (>2.49 nmol/L) showed moderate sensitivity (73%, 95% CI: 39-94) and high specificity (94%, 95% CI: 79-99). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: With establishment of these RIs, biochemical testing for PCC in dogs can be substantially improved. Measurement of pNMN is superior to pMN in dogs with PCC.
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/36637037/