Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common is high chloride in dogs and cats and what it means
By Ueda, Yu et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary emergency and critical care (San Antonio, Tex. : 2001)·2025·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Retrospective Evaluation of the Prognosis and Prevalence of Hyperchloremia in Dogs and Cats.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A large study found that high chloride levels (hyperchloremia) were common in dogs and cats, affecting about 18% of dogs and 9% of cats. This condition was linked to a higher risk of death, especially in dogs with hospital-acquired hyperchloremia compared to those diagnosed before coming to the vet. Various health issues, particularly related to the nervous and urinary systems, were associated with high chloride levels. If your pet has been diagnosed with hyperchloremia, it's important to discuss treatment options with your veterinarian to manage their health effectively.
People also search for: dog high chloride levels · cat electrolyte imbalance symptoms · treatment for hyperchloremia in pets
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence, case-fatality rate, and primary disease processes associated with high corrected chloride concentration (hyper[Cl]) in dogs and cats. DESIGN: Single-center retrospective study. SETTING: Electrical medical records were reviewed to identify dogs and cats with at least one chloride and sodium concentration measured simultaneously during a 60-month period. ANIMALS: A total of 17,120 dogs and 4197 cats presented to a veterinary teaching hospital. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Measured hyper[Cl] was diagnosed in 18.1% (3092/17,120) dogs and 9.4% (396/4197) cats. Corrected hyper[Cl] was diagnosed in 21.1% (3607/17,120) dogs and 9.1% (384/4197) cats. The case-fatality rates were higher in animals with corrected hyper[Cl] than in those with normal corrected [Cl] (p < 0.0001). The case-fatality rate was higher in dogs with measured hyper[Cl] than in those with corrected hyper[Cl] (p = 0.011). Of the dogs and cats with corrected hyper[Cl], a total of 50.9% (1835/3607) dogs and 38.3% (147/384) cats were categorized as prehospital corrected hyper[Cl], whereas a total of 39.5% (1424/3607) dogs and 48.7% (187/384) cats with corrected hyper[Cl] were categorized as hospital-acquired corrected hyper[Cl]. The case-fatality rate of dogs and cats with hospital-acquired corrected hyper[Cl] was higher than that of prehospital corrected hyper[Cl] in dogs (p < 0.0001) but not in cats (p = 0.9). Various primary disease processes, including neurologic and urologic diseases, were identified in animals with corrected hyper[Cl]. CONCLUSIONS: Corrected hyper[Cl] was a common electrolyte abnormality identified in dogs and cats, and it was associated with higher case-fatality rates than normal corrected [Cl]. Hospital-acquired corrected hyper[Cl] was less common but was associated with a higher case-fatality rate than prehospital corrected hyper[Cl] in dogs. Further investigation of corrected hyper[Cl] in association with its morbidity and mortality and the role of therapy to target normal [Cl] is warranted.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41263097/