Assessment of alterations in biochemical exams indicative of renal and hepatic function concerning sex and in elderly and geriatric dogs - a retrospective study between 2015 and 2017 in Joinville - SC

Abstract

The population of geriatric animals has grown considerably in the last years, consequently, the number of visits in the veterinary clinical routine of these animals also showed a strong increase. As a useful tool in the diagnosis of diseases or even for the monitoring of animal health, blood tests are aimed at identifying changes that may be a reflection of some pathological process. Within the blood analyzes, the biochemical profile, if correctly interpreted, gives references regarding the clinical state of an animal, as well as its nutritional balance, immunological status, follow-up of treatments and prognoses. Due to the importance of biochemical parameters in the diagnosis of diseases, especially in the geriatric population, the objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of alterations in biochemical tests that indicate changes in the renal and hepatic functions of elderly dogs and to classify them in relation to gender and age. For this, biochemical exams were collected in two laboratories in the city and the age of the animals was screened, followed by screenings for liver and kidney alterations and another for sex. The most frequent alteration in the population of geriatric and senior dogs was Alkaline Phosphatase with 50.8% (2.206 / 4.341) and 41.6% (979 / 2.352), respectively. The second analyte with the highest frequency of changes was Urea with 44.2% (1,923 / 4,341) in geriatric dogs and 29.9% (705 / 2.352) in senior dogs. The relevance of sex in relation to age was significant in Alkaline Phosphatase and Urea markers.