Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vitamin D levels and survival in dogs with blastomycosis
By Jacobs, C et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2021·Department of Medical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and mortality in dogs with blastomycosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 19 dogs diagnosed with blastomycosis, a serious fungal infection, had their vitamin D levels checked at the start of treatment and again after 30 days. The results showed that these dogs had lower vitamin D levels compared to healthy dogs, and those with particularly low levels were more likely to face serious health risks or even death during their hospital stay and after 30 days. Despite some clinical improvement, their vitamin D levels did not significantly change after treatment. This suggests that monitoring vitamin D levels could be important for dogs with blastomycosis.
People also search for: dog blastomycosis treatment · low vitamin D in dogs · blastomycosis prognosis in dogs
Abstract
Blastomycosis is a prominent fungal disease in the United States. Vitamin D status has been found to be altered in critical illness and various infectious diseases. The objectives of this study were to compare serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations in dogs with blastomycosis and healthy controls, to assess the change in serum 25(OH)D concentrations in dogs with blastomycosis after 30 days of treatment, and to determine if baseline serum 25(OH)D concentrations in dogs with blastomycosis were associated with in-hospital, 30-day, or end-of-study mortality. In this prospective cohort study, 19 dogs newly diagnosed with blastomycosis had serum 25(OH)D concentrations measured with a commercially available validated radioimmunoassay at the time of diagnosis and 30 days after start of treatment. These values were compared to 24 healthy control dogs. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations at the time of diagnosis were lower in dogs with blastomycosis (median, 203 nmol/L; range, 31-590 nmol/L) than in clinically healthy control dogs (259.5 nmol/L, 97-829 nmol/L; P = 0.01). Despite clinical improvement, there was no significant change in serum 25(OH)D concentrations from baseline to 30-day follow-up. Dogs with baseline serum 25(OH)D concentrations <180.5nmol/L had a greater odds of death during hospitalization (odds ratio [OR], 15.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-191.3; P = 0.04) and at 30 days follow-up (OR, 30.0; 95% CI, 2.5-366.7; P = 0.006). These findings highlight the need for further studies evaluating the prognostic value of vitamin D status in dogs with blastomycosis at diagnosis and throughout treatment and remission.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34148015/