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  Discussion on Indications of liver disease?
Author Message

Posted on Thursday, Oct 19, 2000 - 12:44 pm:

Dear Dr.O:
Futher to my messages under "lameness-swollen legs-EPSM?"and after having read all the articles you referred me to, I still have doubts concerning the blood counts that would indicate liver disease.I just got my 4 year old colt's blood test results from France, which are as follows:
FIBRINOGENE-4.90 g/l
UREA-4.18 mmol/l 0.25 g/l
CREATININE-133 umol/l 15mg/l
TRANSAMINASE ASAT/SGOT-257 U/l.37'C
TRANSAMINASE SGPT/ALAT-15 U/l.37'C
GAMMA GT-21 U/l.37'C
ALCALINE PHOSPHATASE-204 U/l.37'C
L.D.H.-291 U/l.37'C
CREATINE KINASE (C.K)-183 U/l.37'C
BILIRRUBINE (TOTAL)-38 umol/l 22mg/l
DIRECT (CONJUGATED)-2 umol/l 1mg/l
INDIRECT (NON CONJUGATED)-36 umol/l 21mg/l
There are also the results of the hematology, which I can provide if you think they could help, but after the ones above is a liver disease to be feared or should we still focus our attention on "tying up" ( I've also read the article on tying up).Thank you again in advance,
Alexandra

Posted on Thursday, Oct 19, 2000 - 12:53 pm:

Dear Dr.O:
After having re-read my previous post, I realised I had forgotten to tell you something important about the colt, and that is that he never had any sign of ictericia (spell.?) or anorexia. He eats very well, but has some difficulty in putting on weight, and the trainer tells me he "has got to be asked" to do his work, as he is a bit lazy (or lazy-like) most of the time. I hope this information helps.Thank you again!

Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2000 - 6:29 am:

Hello Maria,
I need the normal values for your lab to accurately interpret the above. They sould appear on the the lab report sheet.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Oct 23, 2000 - 8:36 pm:

Hello, Dr.O:
I'm sorry I took so long to reply. I'm afraid there is no lab report attached to the blood test results. They came to me by fax and apart from the values provided in my post of the nth, there are only the Hematology values which are:
LEUKOCYTES 8410 /mm3
HEMATIES 7470000 /mm3
Hemoglobin 13.20 g/100ml
Hematocrite 37.20 %
Average cellular volume 49.80 u3
Average globular rate in Hb 17.67 uug
Globular concentration in Hb 35.48 g%
BLOOD FORMULA:
Polynuclear neutrophils 52.00% 4373 /mm3
eosinophiles 2.00% 168 /mm3
basophiles 0.00% 0 /mm3
Lymphocytes 40.00% 3364 /mm3
Monocytes 6.00% 505 /mm3
PLAQUETARY COUNT:
PLAQUETTES 105000 /mm3
Average plaquettary volume 7.90 u3
Plaquettary Hematocrite 0.08%
(I apologise for the spelling )
I hope these values are of any help. I will be travelling to France on Wednesday to see the horse. Please advise if I should ask for any more data.Thank you very much in advance.

Posted on Sunday, Oct 29, 2000 - 6:05 am:

Hello again, Dr. O:
I've come back from France, and both the 4 year old and the 7 month colts were looking fine, although there are still a few little things bothering the trainer and myself. Anyway, what I thought was really important to let you know as soon as possible was that, concerning the blood tests above and the ones of my previous post, they were performed by a human and not a veterinary laboratory. No wonder there were no reference normal values on the lab's report! I hope it will be possible to evaluate the readings anyway. Thank you again for your time.

Posted on Monday, Oct 30, 2000 - 8:42 am:

Well many of these tests are performed the same way in horses and humans but having lab normals is essential for accurate interpretation. Since your vet is familiar with this lab what does he say?
What DrO

Posted on Monday, Oct 30, 2000 - 7:01 pm:

Our vet will come to the yard next Friday, and I'll ask him to have a look at the tests. Here in this region of Portugal we also have to resort to human labs, so I expect the vet will be able to indicate the normal values.I'm really sorry for all the inconvenience, and hope to get back to you very soon. Obrigada, Dr. O!

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 31, 2000 - 8:03 pm:

Dear Dr.O:
I managed to obtain the normal values faster than I expected. I obtained them from a French lab and they refer to equines.Here it goes, and my apologies in advance...this is going to be a long message!...(I'll try to follow the order given in my previous posts):
Fibrinogene or Fibrine - 1.2 to 3.5g/l (Higher than this would indicate inflamation)
Urea - 0.2 to 0.45g/l (higher than this would indicate chronic or acute kidney failure - a moderate elevation might be based in an hyperprotheic feed - sorry about the spelling!)
Creatinine - 13 to 20mg/l (an elevated value would indicate a kidney insufficiency)
Transaminase S.G.O.T (glutamino oxaloacetic) - 90 to 350 UI/L
Transaminase ASAT - less than 350 UI/L
Transaminase S.G.P.T (glutaminopyrunic) - 20 to 40 UI/L ( a value of 400 UI/L can be present long after the horse "tied up")
Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GAMMA GT)- 2 to 25 UI/L
Alcaline phosphatase - 175 to 400 UI/L
LDH - The lab did not indicate the normal value for this
Creatinine Kinasis (CPK) - Resting horse: 12 to 60 UI/L (must be under 150 UI/L) ; Horse under well tolerated exercise: up to 250 UI/L
Bilirrubine (total) - 10 to 30 mg/l
Bilirrubine (conjugated) - 1 to 6 mg/l
Bilirrubine (non conjugated) - no indication of the normal values on lab's report

Well, I sincerely hope that my ghastly spelling does not spoil everything...and I hope even more that my horse's values, compared to the normal ones, don't show anything serious concerning his liver or...that tendency to "tying up" I was (and still am, to be honest) worrying about in my previous posts under "swollen legs".
I've also got the normal values for the hematology, should you feel they are necessary. I can't thank you enough for your patience and help.

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2000 - 7:51 am:

Well the only significant rise you have is in fibrinogen levels, which is a nonspecific indication of inflammation somewhere. The values for the enzymes, though some slightly elevated, don't portend anything serious in their values alone. However none of this will rule out some types of serious liver disease or other serious problems. These values must be taken in light of the history and physical exam.
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 4, 2001 - 4:05 pm:

Hi Dr. O.
I have a Quarter Horse gelding 7 yrs old. Eats well but it is hard to keep weight on him. Developed a fever and was eating poorly, just wasn't himself. Vet came, drew blood and gave him a shot of antibiotic and bute. He was back to his old self for 36 hours though slightly dehydrated. This horse usually drinks a lot under normal conditions. Fever came back and they put him on antibiotics for 30 days. We're on day 8. He seems like his old self. But the labs were "odd" the vets words. He said there was liver involvement but couldn't pin it down. I'd like to post them and have you offer any insight. I've read every post on the liver there is but don't see my horses case. Here are the labs.
Bilirubin,Total 7.5(H) MG/DL 0.8-3.2
AST(SGOT) 735(H) U/L 180-380
GGTP 40(H) U/L 1-35
WBC 3.1(L) THDS/CMM 5.5-12.5
Absolute Polys 2356(L)76% 2600-7500
Absolute LYMPHS 456(L)15% 1500-7700

Everything else in the blood work was in the normal range. Blood will be drawn again at day 10.
I figured two heads are better than one! Thank You
Jennifer

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 5, 2001 - 7:34 am:

Jennifer,
Rather than posting this at the bottom of someone elses discussion, repost this in a new discussion and include all the normal blood work also. To know what is normal is as important as what is abnormal. If you are unsure how to do this read the READ THIS FIRST topic with a link beside every Add A Message button.
DrO
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