title: Assessment of a breath collection technique and portable breath hydrogen monitor for use in cats and dogs.
abstract: Until now the use of breath hydrogen testing in companion animal gastroenterology has been limited to academic institutions because of the expense of the equipment. Recently portable breath hydrogen monitors, designed for use in paediatric gastroenterology, have been developed. They may be suitable for use in veterinary medicine as an ancillary diagnostic aid but, before widespread use can be recommended, thorough validation is required. Hydrogen breath tests were conducted in five dogs and four cats, undergoing investigations for small intestinal disease. Breath samples were taken using a closed-flow collection system and concurrently analysed with a commercially available portable breath hydrogen monitor and a previously validated breath hydrogen monitor. In cats, sample collection was troublesome and complete studies could only be performed in two individuals. Good correlation was demonstrated between the readings of both monitors (rs=0.902 and 0.935 for dogs and cats respectively; P<0.002) but agreement was poor with significant under-read from the portable monitor. Our results demonstrate that more studies on validation and the generation of a reference range would be required before the use of this portable hydrogen monitor could be recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: German
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Papasouliotis
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001944:Breath Tests; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002415:Cats; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004285:Dogs; D005762:Gastroenterology / Q000379:methods; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000032:analysis*; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D006859:Hydrogen