Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Protein C and antithrombin changes over time in dogs with sepsis
By de Laforcade, A M et al.Ā·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicineĀ·2008Ā·Department of Clinical Sciences at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, United StatesĀ·View original on PubMed ā
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Original publication title: Serial evaluation of protein C and antithrombin in dogs with sepsis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Twelve dogs with sepsis, a serious infection that can cause symptoms like fever, rapid heart rate, and breathing problems, were monitored over several days to see how their blood levels of protein C and antithrombin changed. These proteins are important for blood clotting and their levels were found to be low in most of the dogs at the start of the study. As the days went on, the levels of these proteins changed, with survivors showing higher levels than those that did not make it. This suggests that monitoring these proteins could help predict how well a dog with sepsis might recover.
People also search for: dog sepsis symptoms Ā· protein C levels in dogs Ā· antithrombin treatment for dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Protein C (PC) and antithrombin (AT) activities are decreased in humans with severe sepsis, and persistent changes are associated with decreased survival. In dogs with sepsis, PC and AT have been shown to be decreased at the time of diagnosis. HYPOTHESIS: PC and AT activities change significantly over time in dogs with sepsis and may be related to outcome. ANIMALS: Twelve dogs with naturally occurring sepsis. METHODS: Blood was collected from 12 dogs with sepsis, defined as histopathologic or microbiologic confirmation of infection and two of the following: hypo- or hyperthermia, tachycardia, tachypnea, leukopenia, leukocytosis, or >3% bands. The time of 1st sampling was considered day 1 and sampling was repeated every 24 hours for 5 days or until discharge or death. Changes over time were analyzed by ANOVA with repeated measures, and the association between PC and AT and outcome was determined by a 2-equation treatment effects model. RESULTS: Nine dogs and 11 dogs had decreased PC and AT activity on day 1, respectively (mean PC, 66.0 +/- 25.8%; mean AT, 48.1 +/- 16.5%). PC activity significantly decreased from day 1 to day 2 (P= .001), then increased over time. Changes in PC (P < .001) and AT (P < .001) over time were likely associated with outcome with nonsurvivors having lower PC and AT activities than survivors. CONCLUSION: Results of this preliminary study show that PC and AT activities change significantly over time in dogs with sepsis and both are likely related to survival.
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Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18289285/