Abstract
BackgroundBlood biochemistry and reference intervals help to differentiate between healthy and ill dogs as well as to provide information for the prognosis, evaluation, and monitoring; however, these intervals are often obtained from adult animals. It is essential to understand that puppies and adults are physiologically different, which justifies the need to obtain age-specific biochemical reference intervals. The aim of this research was to assess the potential effect of age, sex, body size, and their interaction on routine biochemical analytes and physiological constants (body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate). To carry out the research, we selected 197 healthy dogs of both sexes and different body sizes (small, medium and large) classified by age: group I (4–8 wk), group II (9–24 wk), group III (25–52 wk), and group IV (> 52 wk). The biochemical analysis included the measurement of the enzymatic activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides, total proteins, albumin, globulins, glucose, urea, and creatinine. Statistical analyses used analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a general linear model (GLM), which allows the comparison of multiple factors at two or more levels (p < 0.05).ResultsThe results of this study showed that ALT, total protein, albumin, globulin, urea, creatinine, and body temperature levels were lower in puppies than in adult dogs of group IV (p < 0.05), while the enzymatic activity of ALP, LDH, glucose concentration, and heart rate were higher. Whereas sex, body size and the interaction did not show a significant effect (p > 0.05).ConclusionsSome biochemical components are influenced by age. For this reason, this manuscript contributes with additional data for the clinical interpretation of blood biochemical results in puppies.
Highlights
Blood biochemistry and reference intervals help to differentiate between healthy and ill dogs as well as to provide information for the prognosis, evaluation, and monitoring; these intervals are often obtained from adult animals
Evaluating biochemical components is a valuable tool in these situations, but it could be hampered by the lack of proper reference intervals (RIs) [5]
The physiologic differences between puppies and adult dogs require an age-specific biochemical RI, as in most species [5, 7]; the RI for adults should not be used in puppies since it may lead to inaccurate interpretation of the results [2, 5, 8]
Summary
Blood biochemistry and reference intervals help to differentiate between healthy and ill dogs as well as to provide information for the prognosis, evaluation, and monitoring; these intervals are often obtained from adult animals. It is essential to understand that puppies and adults are physiologically different, which justifies the need to obtain age-specific biochemical reference intervals. Only a few laboratories perform their reference studies, and most RIs consider values obtained from adult dogs; those references should not be used to interpret test results in puppies [1, 3]. The physiologic differences between puppies and adult dogs require an age-specific biochemical RI, as in most species [5, 7]; the RI for adults should not be used in puppies since it may lead to inaccurate interpretation of the results [2, 5, 8]. When interpreting clinical data obtained from dogs during their first year of life, growth-related alterations and metabolic changes in biochemical limits should be considered [6, 9]
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