HP02 - Evaluation of Fasting Bile Acid Concentrations in Dogs with Sepsis

Abstract: Background: Serum bile acid cocentrations represent an early predictor of short-term survival in critically ill people; however, their use as biomarkers in septic dogs has not been previously established.




Objective: Evaluate if fasting serum bile acid concentrations differ between septic and non-septic dogs and identify any relationship with survival and hospitalization period in septic dogs.




Animals: Twenty-six client-owned dogs diagnosed with sepsis. Dogs presenting with a non-hepatobiliary medical condition (non-septic group; n = 21) and dogs admitted for an elective orthopedic procedure, considered otherwise healthy (orthopedic group; n = 29), were included as control groups.




Methods: Retrospective observational study of medical records of a single referral center from 2008 to 2020. Fasting serum bile acids, biochemical and hematological parameters were compared between groups, using the Kruskal-Wallis with post-hoc Dunn’s test or one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey’s test. For septic dogs, the relationship between fasting serum bile acids and hospitalization period was assessed using Spearman rank correlation, and survival to discharge using the Mann-Whitney U test.




Results: Fasting serum bile acids were significantly higher in the septic (median 17.5 µmol/L, interquartile range [IQR] 7.5-26.9 µmol/L) compared to the non-septic group (median 6.9 µmol/L, IQR 4.7-9 µmol/L; P = 0.013). However, no difference was identified between the septic and the orthopedic group (median 12 µmol/L, IQR 9-14 µmol/L; P = 0.471). Fasting serum bile acid concentrations were not associated with hospitalization period (Spearman’s rho = -0.129; P = 0.529) nor with survival (P = 0.918).




Conclusions and clinical importance: Fasting serum bile acid concentrations were not considered prognostic indicators.