Objectives: Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and plays a critical role in a wide range of physiological processes. Low concentrations of ionised calcium, the most metabolically available form of calcium, have been linked to an increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes in dogs. Magnesium plays an important role in parathyroid hormone function. The objective of this study was to define the prevalence and aetiology of hypomagnesaemia in a hospitalised cohort of dogs with ionised hypocalcaemia (IHC). Methods: A total magnesium reference interval was established using serum biochemistry results from 346 clinically healthy dogs. The clinical records of dogs with IHC were reviewed, and concurrent serum magnesium concentrations were recorded alongside clinical signs and underlying aetiology. The prevalence, clinical presentation and aetiology of hypomagnesaemia were examined in the IHC population. Results: Two hundred and ninety‐five IHC dogs were identified. Hypomagnesaemia was identified in 22%. Total magnesium concentration was significantly higher in dogs with renal disease. The most common cause of concurrent hypomagnesaemia and IHC was gastrointestinal diseases. Conclusion: Low concentrations of serum magnesium occur in approximately one fifth of all dogs with IHC. Further studies are required to clarify the link between magnesium status, IHC and clinical outcome.

Despite bone mineral density (BMD) being regularly measured in human patients, BMD studies in clinical cohorts of dogs is lacking. In order to facilitate BMD assessment and in turn better identify dogs suffering from metabolic bone disease, rapid, easy and precise computed tomography (qCT) techniques are required. In this study we aimed to assess the utility of quantitative computed tomography (qCT) bone mineral density (BMD) measurement of the canine calvarium using a semiautomated osteodensitometry software and define host factors associated with canine bone mineral density in a skeletally healthy population. Calvarial qCT at the level of the temporomandibular joints was performed on 323 dogs using a dedicated osteodensitometry calibration phantom during a clinically indicated head computed tomography (CT). Calvarial BMD was analyzed using a dedicated semiautomatic osteodensitometry software for contouring of the calvarial lamellar bone margins and BMD calculation. The mean duration of the calvarial qCT scanning was 64.6 s, and the mean duration of BMD analysis was 34 s, with a mean of two manual adjustments required for the bone margin tracing. The median BMD of all dogs in our study was 659 mg Calcium hydroxyapatite/mL. There was a negative linear correlation between BMD and body weight, but no correlation with age, sex or neutered status. Canine BMD assessment using qCT of the calvarium is a practical and fast technique that can be added to a clinical CT examination with minimal extra time requirements. Canine BMD host-dependent factors exhibit different relationships from that of humans; however, further investigation is warranted.

Objectives: To report the incidence of feline hypoalbuminaemia and characterise the distribution of presenting disease categories and pathoaetiologies of hypoalbuminaemia in cats. The secondary aim was to evaluate the relationship between hypoalbuminaemia and clinical outcomes.Materials and Methods: Medical records of cats with hypoalbuminaemia (<28.0 g/L, reference interval: 28.0 to 39.0 g/L) presenting to a veterinary teaching hospital over 5 years were retrospectively reviewed. The severity of hypoalbuminaemia was further stratified into mild (24.0 to 27.9 g/L), moderate (20.0 to 23.9 g/L) and severe (≤19.9 g/L) groups. The median albumin and severity groups were compared between the determined disease categories, pathoaetiologies and clinical outcomes.Results: The incidence of hypoalbuminaemia was 32.7% (533/1632). Gastrointestinal disease was the most common disease category associated with hypoalbuminaemia [154/533 (28.9%)], of which, 49.4% (76/154) of cats had gastrointestinal neoplasia. Neoplastic [159/533 (29.8%)] and inflammatory conditions [158/533 (29.6%)] were common pathoaetiologies noted. Statistically significant differences in the serum albumin between individual disease and pathoaetiological categories were found. Cats with moderate to severe hypoalbuminaemia had a statistically significantly longer hospitalisation period, cost of treatment and increased odds of death (odds ratio 2.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.3 to 4.6 and odds ratio 3.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.5 to 6.6, respectively).Clinical Significance: The incidence of feline hypoalbuminaemia in our study surpasses previous canine reports. Our findings support albumin as a negative acute phase protein in cats, with hypoalbuminaemia frequently associated with inflammatory disease. Hypoalbuminaemia also features prominently in cats with gastrointestinal neoplasia, indicating careful appraisal of the presence of protein‐losing enteropathy is required in these cases. Finally, albumin is found to be a prognostic indicator in this study.

Computed tomographic (CT) liver volumetry using the slice addition technique is an accurate, but a time‐consuming method. Commonly used DICOM‐viewing software only allows contouring of one area per image, which can be troublesome in the transverse plane as different lobes are separated. In this prospective, experimental, methods comparison study, we aimed to determine if hepatic contouring using sagittal reformatting and a reduced number of images would yield accurate results. Computed tomographic studies were performed in five canine cadavers and reviewed using sagittal reformatting. For each dog, the number of images that included the liver was used to create four stacks with progressively fewer images in which the liver would be contoured, each with the following median number of images: A: 60, B: 31, C: 16, and D: 9. Liver volume was calculated by three observers using the different stacks of images. After CT examination, the cadavers were dissected, the liver was removed, and its volume was determined by water displacement. Single score intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated to assess interobserver agreement. Kruskal‐Wallis test was used to compare water displacement and CT‐based volumes. There was excellent agreement between observers (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.957; 95% confidence interval, 0.908‐0.982, P < 0.0001). No significant difference was found between the volumes obtained by CT‐volumetry using each of the stacks and the volumes obtained by water displacement. Using sagittally reformatted images and hepatic contouring in as few as nine images can be an accurate and simple method for CT‐volumetry of the canine liver.

Background: The impact of undernutrition in dogs with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) caused by inflammatory enteritis, intestinal lymphangiectasia, or both and which variables are most predictive of outcome are unknown. Objectives: Develop an undernutrition screening score (USS) for use at the time of diagnosis of PLE in dogs, which is predictive of outcome. Animals: Fifty-seven dogs with PLE prospectively recruited from 3 referral hospitals in the United Kingdom. Methods: An USS based on the presence and severity of 5 variables: appetite, weight loss, and body, muscle, and coat condition and scored out of 15, with higher scores reflecting worse undernutrition, was calculated at the time of diagnosis. Follow-up information was obtained for at least 6 months. Results: Dogs that failed to achieve clinical remission within 6 months had higher USS at diagnosis compared with dogs that achieved remission (median, 7.5; range, 2-14 and median, 5; range, 0-14, respectively). The USS at diagnosis gave an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.656 for predicting nonclinical remission within 6 months, whereas a score consisting of just epaxial muscle loss and coat condition resulted in a larger AUC of 0.728. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Of the 5 variables assessed in the USS, a combination of epaxial muscle loss and coat condition was most predictive of not achieving clinical remission within 6 months in dogs with PLE. Additional studies will help determine the effect of changes in USS and the 5 associated variables after diagnosis on outcome variables in these dogs.