sebsyd

When Sydney went in for spaying last friday everything went very well and she is now back to her old self, so much for keeping her quiet for a week!!

While there and before surgery, I had them run blood work as a precaution. Everything was good and within range, except her liver level which was 240. I did some researching and I think that the normal is about 219. Is this correct?? My vet told me not to worry, it could be causes by many factors. He said that we should redo the test in three months to see how it stands. My question to all you guys who know about this is, is this something that I should be worried about?? I hate to wait 3 months only to find out that I should have done something now.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

__________________
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your Doberman. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."

melbrod

There is usually a range given for any test [for example--200-800 normal range. Average normal--500. Note--I completely made up these figures.] It helps, in addition to knowing the normal midpoint, to know the range of normal values you can expect when measuring a typical population. Different labs can also have somewhat different normals based on their individual techniques and the particular instruments used in their testing. It is possible Sydney's reading could be within the normal range, just on the high side, and that that is why the vet seems not too worried.
I'm basing this on years as medical technologist, but on PEOPLE testing. The theory still fits, but I don't know values and their significance for dogs. Got to go to others for that.

reddobes

There are different liver enzymes that are measured - typically ALT and ALP in dogs. They can be elevated for different reasons. ALP can be slightly elevated in young growing animals (bone growth). ALT is more liver specific and degree of elevation does not correlate w/ what is going on in liver. You need to know what the normal range is for the lab that ran it.
If it is the ALT that is elevated, I would recommend rechecking in 2-4 wks to see where it's at. It may be nothing, but could also be an early warning sign for something more serious. In an asymptomatic dog, I wouldn't worry too much at this point. If it remains elevated, then it warrants further investigation/monitoring.

Yes, melbrod, those things are true in vet medicine as well. Many of the larger reference labs/universities use the same chemistry and hematology analyzers used in human hospitals. Each lab has to establish it's own normal ranges and validate it for a given species.

sebsyd

reddobes,
Thank you for responding so quickly. I am going to call the vet and ask what test was done and what their ranges are. My vet mentioned a 219 as normal range and he wasn't too worried, but maybe I am overthinking this. Being a nurse, I don't like any elevated levels without knowing the cause.

__________________
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your Doberman. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."