Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How dog gut biomarkers change after surgery and diarrhea
By Jablonski, Sara A et al.·Published in American journal of veterinary research·2025·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serum gastrointestinal biomarkers are transiently affected by elective orthopedic surgery and acute enteropathy in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old Labrador was brought in for surgery to repair a torn ligament and experienced some gastrointestinal issues afterward. After the surgery, the dog's levels of certain vitamins (cobalamin and folate) dropped temporarily but returned to normal within a few weeks. Similarly, dogs with acute diarrhea also showed low vitamin levels initially, but these improved as they recovered. This study suggests that if your dog has surgery or gastrointestinal problems, their vitamin levels may be affected, so it's important to check them again later before considering any treatments.
People also search for: dog surgery recovery · low cobalamin in dogs · dog diarrhea treatment · vitamin levels after surgery in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in gastrointestinal biomarkers over time in dogs undergoing elective orthopedic surgery and in dogs with acute nonspecific diarrhea (AD). METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 20 dogs undergoing surgical repair of cranial cruciate ligament disease (CCL cohort) and 8 dogs with AD. Serum concentrations of cobalamin, folate, methylmalonic acid, and C-reactive protein and fecal calprotectin concentrations were measured before and 12 to 18 hours, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after surgery in the CCL group. These biomarkers were also measured in AD dogs at initial evaluation and 4 and 8 weeks postrecovery. RESULTS: Serum cobalamin (437 ± 186 ng/L) and folate concentrations (10.5 ± 4.8 ng/mL) at 12 to 18 hours were lower than corresponding cobalamin (630 ± 235 ng/L; P < .001) and folate concentrations (14.61 ± 6.3 ng/mL; P = .001) before surgery in CCL dogs. However, serum cobalamin (637 ± 195 ng/L) and folate concentrations (13.8 ± 5.7 ng/mL) at 4 weeks were higher than at 12 to 18 hours (P < .001 and P = .01, respectively) and similar to baseline. All 3 AD dogs with serum cobalamin concentrations below the reference interval at baseline had serum cobalamin concentrations within the reference interval at 4 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Major orthopedic surgery and acute nonspecific enteropathy transiently lowered serum cobalamin and folate concentrations in dogs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Serum folate and cobalamin should be interpreted cautiously in the immediate postoperative setting or during acute gastrointestinal illness. Abnormalities should be reevaluated at a later date before pursuing other diagnostics or instituting supplementation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40675186/