Evaluation of plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels in healthy North American Salukis with normal echocardiographic measurements

Abstract

Measurement of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels has been shown to have clinical significance for diagnosis and management of heart disease in dogs. Evaluation of current reference limits for specific breeds is necessary to ensure the test can accurately distinguish between healthy and diseased animals. The objective of this study is to evaluate the adequacy of currently established NT-proBNP reference limits for clinical use in healthy Salukis. Cardiac health of 33 clinically healthy Salukis was evaluated via echocardiography using available breed standards. Plasma concentrations of NT-proBNP were measured using a commercially available assay. A one-sided 97.5 % upper reference limit for the NT-proBNP concentrations was calculated using non-parametric percentile method. The 97.5 % upper reference limit was 769 pmol/L (90% CI, 547-1214 pmol/L) for the study dogs. This upper reference limit was within the currently established non-breed specific NT-proBNP upper reference limit of 900 pmol/L. No relationship between sex, age, or body weight on plasma levels of NT-proBNP was noted. Results of this study supports the use of currently available non-breed specific NT-proBNP cut-off values for clinical evaluation of healthy Salukis.

Cardiovascular abnormalities in dogs with acute pancreatitis

“…The median plasma NT‐proBNP concentration was also 1.8× the median NT‐proBNP concentration reported in a second study of healthy dogs (median: 543 pmol/L, range: 16‐1558 pmol/L) 39 . The median plasma NT‐proBNP concentration was 3.9× higher than the median NT‐proBNP concentration (median: 250 pmol/L, range: 250‐1214 pmol/L) reported in a recent study of healthy Saluki dogs with normal echocardiographic measurements 40 . Next, we compared the median plasma NT‐proBNP concentration from dogs with AP in phase II of this study to proposed diagnostic cut offs for primary cardiac disorders utilizing the same assay 24,41,42 .…”

“…39 The median plasma NT-proBNP concentration was 3.9Â higher than the median NT-proBNP concentration (median: 250 pmol/L, range: 250-1214 pmol/L) reported in a recent study of healthy Saluki dogs with normal echocardiographic measurements. 40 Next, we compared the median plasma NT-proBNP concentration from dogs with AP in phase II of this study to proposed diagnostic cut offs for primary cardiac disorders utilizing the same assay. 24,41,42 The median plasma NT-proBNP concentration in dogs with AP in phase II of this study was greater than the plasma NT-proBNP (445 pmol/L) diagnostic cut-off proposed to discriminate dogs with mitral valve disease or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) from healthy dogs.…”