Basal plasma concentrations of routine variables and packed cell volume in clinically healthy adult small-sized dogs: effect of breed, body weight, age, and gender, and establishment of reference intervals

Abstract

Background: Plasma variables may be affected by breed or body weight (BW). Small-sized dogs are very common, but no specific reference intervals (RI) are used.

Objectives: The primary objective of this prospective study was to assess the potential effect of breed, BW, age, and sex on routine plasma analytes and packed cell volume (PCV) in small-sized dogs. A secondary objective was to establish RI in this small-sized population.

Methods: Blood was sampled under standardized conditions from healthy dogs. PCV and 15 routine plasma variables were measured at the same laboratory. Effects of breed, BW, age, and sex were tested using a general linear model. The procedure recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute was used to establish RI.

Results: In this study, 154 healthy dogs from 7 breeds were prospectively included. Although a significant effect of breed, BW, sex, or age was evidenced for most variables (except plasma sodium, phosphates, and triglycerides), it was considered as clinically irrelevant. More strikingly, the percentage of values in the reference sample group under the lower limit of the laboratory's RI ranged from 3.8% to 76.6% for 9 variables, and those higher than the upper limit of the laboratory's RI ranged from 4.5% to 9.7% for 7 variables. For example, the RI for creatinine in small-sized dogs was 45-90 μmol/L (vs 54-144 μmol/L for the general dog population).

Conclusion: Specific RI should be considered for PCV and selected plasma variables in small-sized dogs.

Keywords: Albumin; canine; creatinine; partitioning; sodium; total proteins.