Evaluation of serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in a heterogeneous canine ICU population

Abstract

Objective: To identify the prevalence of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) concentrations in critically ill dogs and determine whether vitamin D concentration measured at admission correlates with illness severity and patient outcome. Design: Prospective observational studySetting: Private referral teaching hospital ICU. Animals:One hundred eleven critically ill dogs admitted to the ICU, and 28 apparently healthy control dogs. Interventions: Measurement of 25-OH-D concentration and assessment of physiological parameters required to calculate illness severity scores. Measurements and Main Results: Blood was sampled to measure serum 25-OH-D concentration, point-of-care laboratory data (packed cell volume, total plasma protein, venous blood gas, electrolytes, plasma lactate, and blood glucose concentration), platelet count, and serum albumin within 12 hours of admission. Primary disease etiologies were determined. Mentation score, Acute Patient Physiologic and Laboratory Evaluation (APPLE) fast score, length of ICU hospitalization, and survival to discharge were recorded. Low serum 25-OH-D concentrations were detected in 25% (28/111) of the ICU cohort; 25-OH-D concentrations (median; IQR) (89.2; 26.3 ng/mL [222; 140.0 nmol/L]) were significantly lower in hospitalized dogs compared with the healthy cohort (127.5; 44.5 ng/mL [318; 111.0 nmol/L]) (P < 0.0001). Serum 25-OH-D concentrations had a weak positive correlation with albumin (r = 0.34, P = 0.0003), but not with any other blood analyte evaluated. Serum concentration of 25-OH-D was also weakly correlated with APPLE fast score (r = 0.31, P = 0.001). 25-OH-D concentrations (median; IQR) were significantly higher in ICU dogs that survived to discharge (95.5; 55 ng/mL [238; 137 nmol/L]) compared with nonsurvivors (60.0; 54 ng/mL [149; 135 nmol/L]; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Low serum 25-OH-D was recorded in one-quarter of critically ill dogs, and was significantly lower in nonsurvivors in comparison to survivors. There was weak correlation between serum 25-OH-D and illness severity. Further studies are required to clarify relationships between vitamin D status and outcome. K E Y W O R D S canine, clinical epidemiology, illness severity, outcome, vitamin D Abbreviations: 25-OH-D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D; APPLE fast , Acute Patient Physiologic and Laboratory Evaluation fast score; DBP, vitamin D binding protein; IQR, interquartile range; LOH, length of hospitalization.

A Novel UHPLC–MS/MS Method for the Measurement of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 in Canine Serum and Its Application to Healthy Dogs

“…Parker et al 2017 [ 4 ] reported a reference range of 24 to 86 ng/mL for 25-OH-D3 in a national veterinary endocrine laboratory. Other studies based on LC–MS/MS analysis indicated similar results, with mean concentrations in healthy dogs ranging from 29.6 to 57.0 ng/mL [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Additionally, quantifications of 25-OH-D3 in canine serum conducted using HPLC–UV [ 23 , 23 ] reported concentrations ranging from 17.2 to 30.76 ng/mL.…”

Vitamin D metabolism and disorders in dogs and cats

“…Low vitamin D status has also been associated with anaemia in hospitalised cats (Titmarsh et al 2020). Similarly, vitamin D status in critically ill dogs that survived was found to be significantly higher than in dogs that died (Cazzolli et al 2019). Critically ill dogs and dogs with sepsis had significantly lower serum 25(OH)D concentrations compared to healthy control dogs, and 25(OH) D concentration was an independent predictor of in-hospital and 30-day survival (Jaffey et al 2018).…”

Serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentration and infectious respiratory disease complex in shelter dogs

“…Meta‐analysis revealed that vitamin D supplementation per os in humans was safe and protected against acute respiratory tract infections 8 . The primary circulating metabolite of vitamin D, 25‐hydroxyvitamin (OH)D, has been established as a useful biomarker in dogs to predict outcome in various disease processes 9‐13 . However, the role of vitamin D in shelter dogs with CIRDC remains unknown.…”

“…8 The primary circulating metabolite of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin (OH)D, has been established as a useful biomarker in dogs to predict outcome in various disease processes. [9][10][11][12][13] However, the role of vitamin D in shelter dogs with CIRDC remains unknown.…”