Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Testing fludrocortisone effects on aldosterone and cortisol in cats
By Matsuda, Mayu et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2015·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serum aldosterone and cortisol concentrations before and after suppression with fludrocortisone in cats: a pilot study.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of healthy cats was tested to see if a medication called fludrocortisone could help diagnose a condition known as primary hyperaldosteronism, which can cause high blood pressure. The cats received fludrocortisone for a few days, and blood samples were taken to measure levels of aldosterone and cortisol. The results showed that fludrocortisone effectively lowered aldosterone levels in the cats. This suggests that fludrocortisone could be a useful tool for diagnosing this condition in cats, but more research is needed to confirm its effectiveness in cats with the actual disease.
People also search for: cat high blood pressure diagnosis · fludrocortisone for cats · primary hyperaldosteronism in cats
Abstract
Primary hyperaldosteronism is an increasingly recognized syndrome in cats, and diagnosis can be difficult. A potential diagnostic method has been reported, utilizing oral fludrocortisone administered twice daily for 4 days followed by collection of urine. In the current study, we sought to determine if blood sampling and a shorter dosing period would provide a possible means to test for primary hyperaldosteronism. Also, cortisol concentrations were measured to assess the potential of fludrocortisone to act as a glucocorticoid in cats. In phase I, 8 healthy laboratory cats were studied in a placebo-controlled, crossover design. Serum aldosterone and cortisol concentrations were measured before and on the second, third, and fourth day of treatment and compared within groups. In phase II, based on the results obtained in phase I, 8 healthy client-owned cats were administered 3 doses of fludrocortisone or placebo. Serum aldosterone and cortisol concentrations were compared before and after treatment within groups. In both phases, serum aldosterone and cortisol concentrations were significantly suppressed in fludrocortisone-treated cats. Thus, it was determined that oral administration of fludrocortisone causes suppression of serum aldosterone in healthy adult cats after only 3 doses. Further research is needed to determine the effects of oral fludrocortisone in cats with primary hyperaldosteronism and cats with other disorders causing hypertension and/or hypokalemia to determine if this protocol can be used as a tool for the definitive diagnosis of primary hyperaldosteronism.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25901003/