Clinical and hematological indicators of differential diagnosis of liver diseases in dogs

Abstract

The task of work was to study the differential diagnosis of spontaneous cases of hepatodystrophy and cirrhosis in dogs based on the results of the study of the clinical condition, changes in hemocytopoiesis and biochemical blood parameters,since liver pathology in dogs is quite common and leads to the loss of health of pets. Dogs suffering from hepatodystrophy were depressed, vomiting, diarrhea were observed, some animals had slight hepatomegaly and pain in the liver area. Violation of the proteinsynthesizing function of the liver was manifested by hypoalbuminemia, pigmentary – by an increase in the amount of total bilirubin and the appearance of conjugated. The urine–forming function of the liver and the filtering function of the kidneys also underwent changes. The activity of AST, ALT, GHT, LDH probably increased, the activity of XE decreased, that is. Clinically, in dogs with cirrhosis, depression of the general condition, decreased appetite, and in some cases, jaundice of the conjunctiva were observed, but ascites and bradycardia were the most typical. One of the important general clinical indicators is the hemoglobin content, which was reduced in liver cirrhosis. If with hepatodystrophy the content of total protein increases or remains unchanged within the maximum norm, then it decreases in dogs with liver cirrhosis. The amount of albumin in liver cirrhosis was half as much as in hepatodystrophy, and in no case did it exceed 23.2 g/l, and in hepatodystrophy was at least 27.5 g/l. If the activity of AST, ALT, and LDH increased by 1.5–2.2 times in hepatodystrophy, it did not exceed the normal range in liver cirrhosis. Changes in GHT activity are more informative: in cirrhosis it increased threefold, and in hepatodystrophy – twice. The most informative are changes in ХЕ. Its activity in dogs with cirrhosis is sharply reduced and in no case did it exceed 21.4 μkat/l, while in hepatodystrophy it was at least 23.8 μkat/l. Therefore, for the differentiation of hepatodystrophy and cirrhosis, the following indicators have the greatest diagnostic value: in cirrhosis – abdominal ascites, hypoproteinemia, a significant decrease in albumin content and XE activity, and in hepatodystrophy – normo- or hyperproteinemia, slight hypoalbuminemia and increased activity of cellular enzymes (AST, ALT , LDH).