title: A retrospective study of serum β-hydroxybutyric acid in 215 ill cats: clinical signs, laboratory findings and diagnoses.
abstract: Serum concentrations of β-hydroxybutyric acid (sBHBA) are increased in cats with diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hepatic lipidosis (HL). This study assessed sBHBA as a diagnostic tool in 215 consecutively-enrolled ill cats in the general population in a veterinary hospital. At the time of presentation, sBHBA was within the reference range in 158/215 (73.5%) cats (median 0.27; range 0.00-0.49 mmol/L) and elevated in 57/215 (26.5%) cats (median 0.87; range 0.51-21.45 mmol/L). Compared to cats with normal sBHBA, those with increased sBHBA had higher frequencies of anorexia, weight loss, icterus, polyuria/polydipsia, hyperbilirubinaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, pancreatitis, HL, DM and DKA. They had higher concentrations of bilirubin and triglycerides and lower concentrations of potassium, chloride and total protein. There were positive correlations (P<0.01) between sBHBA and urinary glucose (r=0.42) and ketones (r=0.76), but there were no group differences in dipstick levels of urinary ketones. Cats with DM/DKA and with HL had significantly higher sBHBA compared to other cats. Receiver operator characteristics analysis of sBHBA as a predictor of HL showed that sBHBA was a good predictor of HL. Increased sBHBA occurs frequently in ill cats and provides useful diagnostic information, especially in DM/DKA and HL.
authors.affiliation: Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel. aroch@agri.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Itamar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aroch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shechter-Polak
authors.forename: Gilad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Segev
mesh_terms: D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002415:Cats; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary*; D016883:Diabetic Ketoacidosis / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D008064:Lipidoses / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid