Abstract:
Babesia rossi is the cause of a highly virulent multisystemic disease with a variable outcome,
which is a reliable model of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). The objective
of this study was to determine the concentration of canine pancreatic-specific lipase (cPL) in
a population of dogs with naturally acquired B. rossi infection. In addition, the associations
between serum cPL and death and SIRS status were examined. An observational study
recruited 87 dogs diagnosed with B. rossi infection and serum cPL concentrations were
measured daily until discharge or death. The median concentration of serum cPL was
124.0 μg/L (interquartile range: 51.0 μg/L – 475.5 μg/L) on admission (n = 87) and 145.5 μg/L
(62.3 μg/L – 434.0 μg/L) on day two of hospitalisation (n = 40). Twenty-four dogs (28%)
had a serum cPL concentration within the diagnostic range for pancreatitis (> 400 μg/L) at
admission with 13 dogs (32.5%) presenting as such on the second day of hospitalisation. The
median concentration of serum cPL in dogs with SIRS was 158 μg/L (interquartile range:
52.5 μg/L – 571.5 μg/L; n = 53), which was significantly higher than in those without SIRS
(75 μg/L; 50.3 μg/L – 131.8 μg/L; n = 32) (P = 0.018). This study demonstrated that an
unexpectedly high number of dogs diagnosed with naturally acquired canine babesiosis had a
serum cPL concentration within the diagnostic range for acute pancreatitis and a significantly
higher serum cPL concentration was found in dogs that were classified as having SIRS.
