Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How critical illness changes urine stress chemicals in dogs
By Cameron, K N et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2010·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The effects of illness on urinary catecholamines and their metabolites in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of critically ill dogs had higher levels of certain hormones in their urine compared to healthy dogs. This study looked at how illness affects the levels of catecholamines (like epinephrine and norepinephrine) and their breakdown products in urine. The findings suggest that if a dog is sick, it can be harder to use these hormone levels to diagnose conditions like pheochromocytomas (a type of tumor). This means that if your dog is unwell, interpreting these test results may be complicated.
People also search for: dog urinary catecholamines test · symptoms of pheochromocytoma in dogs · why is my dog sick and urinating frequently
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Urinary catecholamines and metanephrines have been proposed as a diagnostic tool for identifying canine pheochromocytomas, but the effects of critical illness on urine concentrations of catecholamines and metanephrines currently are unknown. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of illness on urine concentrations of catecholamines and metanephrines in dogs. ANIMALS: Twenty-five critically ill dogs and 25 healthy age- and sex-matched control dogs. METHODS: Prospective observational study. Urine was collected from healthy and critically ill dogs, and urine concentrations of epinephrine, norepinephrine, metanephrine, and normetanephrine were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Urinary catecholamine and metanephrine:creatinine ratios were calculated and compared between groups. RESULTS: Urinary epinephrine, norepinephrine, metanephrine, and normetanephrine:creatinine ratios were higher in critically ill dogs when compared with a healthy control population (P=.0009, P<0.0001, P<0.0001, and P<0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Illness has a significant impact on urinary catecholamines and their metabolites in dogs. Further investigation of catecholamine and metanephrine concentrations in dogs with pheochromocytomas is warranted to fully evaluate this test as a diagnostic tool; however, the findings of this study suggest that the results may be difficult to interpret in dogs with concurrent illness.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20840301/