Open AccessThe Utility of Acute‐Phase Proteins in the Assessment of Treatment Response in Dogs With Bacterial Pneumonia
Author(s) -
Viitanen S.J.,
Lappalainen A.K.,
Christensen M.B.,
Sankari S.,
Rajamäki M.M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of veterinary internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.356
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1939-1676
pISSN - 0891-6640
DOI - 10.1111/jvim.14631
Subject(s) - medicine , acute phase protein , haptoglobin , c reactive protein , antibiotics , community acquired pneumonia , pneumonia , serum amyloid a , gastroenterology , bacterial pneumonia , doxycycline , inflammation , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Background Acute‐phase proteins ( APP s) are sensitive markers of inflammation, and serum C‐reactive protein ( CRP ) recently has been shown to be a useful diagnostic marker in dogs with bacterial pneumonia ( BP ). In humans with community‐acquired pneumonia, APP s also have great utility as follow‐up markers aiding in the assessment of treatment response. Objectives The aim of our study was to investigate the applicability of APP s as markers of treatment response in dogs with BP . Animals Nineteen dogs diagnosed with BP and 64 healthy dogs. Methods The study was conducted as a prospective longitudinal observational study. Serum CRP , serum amyloid A ( SAA ), and haptoglobin concentrations were followed during a natural course of BP . Normalization of serum CRP was used to guide the duration of antibiotic treatment (treatment was stopped 5–7 days after CRP normalized) in 8 of 17 dogs surviving to discharge; 9 of 17 dogs were treated according to conventional recommendations. Results All measured APP s initially were significantly increased, but the magnitude of increase was not correlated to disease severity. C‐reactive protein and SAA concentrations decreased rapidly after initiation of antimicrobial treatment. When normalization of serum CRP was used to guide the duration of antibiotic treatment, treatment duration was significantly ( P = .015) decreased without increasing the number of relapses. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Serum CRP and SAA reflected the recovery process well and therefore may be used as markers of treatment response. According to the results, the normalization of serum CRP may be used to guide the duration of antibiotic treatment in dogs with BP .