Elevated serum creatinine and hyponatraemia as prognostic factors in canine acute pancreatitis

Objective To evaluate prognostic factors for canine acute pancreatitis (AP) based on clinical and laboratory data that can be easily assessed in veterinary practice. Design Retrospective study between January 2010 and December 2013. Methods The diagnosis of AP was based on clinical signs and an abnormal SNAP® cPL™ test result, concurrently with an ultrasound pattern suggestive of pancreatitis. Dogs were divided into survivors and non‐survivors. We evaluated 12 clinical and laboratory parameters: respiratory rate, rectal temperature, white blood cells, haematocrit, total serum proteins, albumin, creatinine, cholesterol, total and ionised calcium, sodium and potassium. Clinical and clinicopathological data were statistically compared between survivors and non‐survivors. A value of P < 0.05 was considered significant and P < 0.01 as highly significant. The odds ratio (OR) was calculated. Results The study enrolled 50 client‐owned dogs with a diagnosis of AP. Serum creatinine (P = 0.017) and sodium (P = 0.004) correlated significantly with the outcome . Serum sodium < 139.0 mmol/L (139.0 mEq/L) and serum creatinine > 212 μmol/L (2.4 mg/dL) were associated significantly with poor prognosis. Azotaemia (OR 12.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.32–118.48) and hyponatraemia (OR 4.9; 95% CI 1.36–17.64) were associated with increased risk of death. Conclusions In dogs with AP, hyponatraemia and azotaemia seem to be significantly associated with an increased risk of death.