Forums » Internal Medicine - Small Animal

Measuring Electrolyte Levels in Addisonian Dogs

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    • 26 posts
    November 19, 2019 9:05 PM EST

    This question was forwarded to me related to the webinar on New Research Insights Into Canine Addison's Disease ...

     

    Why does the veterinary profession insist on using the standard Reference Interval from electrolyte measurements to titrate mineralocorticoid activity even though it is not appropriate for all dogs (e.g. greyhounds) and much better measurements are available e.g. Plasma Renin Activity?


    This assay (plasma renin activity) is not readily available. Standard recommendations for monitoring can only evolve as new information is available and distributed through peer review and clinical usage. In general this process can happen slowly or rapidly, depending on the strength of new evidence in published studies and the need to change current practices.