Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat and dog with muscle injury show false high bicarbonate levels
By Bouschor, Jennifer et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2024·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spurious hyperbicarbonatemia and a negative anion gap in a cat and a dog with severe rhabdomyolysis.
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old male neutered domestic shorthair cat and a 2-year-old male neutered Labrador-mix dog were brought to the vet after suffering serious muscle injuries from a dog attack and seizure activity, respectively. Blood tests showed signs of rhabdomyolysis, a condition where muscle tissue breaks down, but also revealed unexpected high bicarbonate levels and a negative anion gap, which suggested a testing error. Further analysis confirmed that the high levels were due to interference from the testing equipment rather than a true health issue. Both pets were treated appropriately based on the accurate results, and understanding this testing interference is crucial for emergency care.
People also search for: cat muscle injury treatment · dog seizure causes · rhabdomyolysis in pets · high bicarbonate levels in cats · dog attack recovery
Abstract
A 3-year-old male neutered domestic shorthair cat and a 2-year-old male neutered Labrador-mix dog were separately presented to the Veterinary Medical Center for evaluation after sustaining significant muscle trauma due to a dog attack and seizure activity, respectively. In both cases, biochemical analysis was consistent with rhabdomyolysis. Additionally, a markedly increased measured serum bicarbonate concentration and negative calculated anion gap were observed. As these biochemical abnormalities were not expected and deemed incompatible with life, an interference with the analyzer measurement of bicarbonate involving marked increases in pyruvate and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) following myocyte injury was suspected. Venous blood gas analysis calculated bicarbonate concentration and anion gap were within reference interval, while measured LDH activity was markedly increased. These findings supported an analyzer-generated interference. This is the first published report of a previously described chemistry analyzer interference of markedly increased LDH activity with serum bicarbonate concentration measurement in dogs and cats. Awareness of this interference is important, particularly in the emergency setting, as it may influence case management.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38702289/