Artigo
Serum iron and plasma fibrinogen concentrations as indicators of systemic inflammatory diseases in horses
Date
2007-05-01Registration in:
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Lakewood: Amer Coll Veterinary Internal Medicine, v. 21, n. 3, p. 489-494, 2007.
0891-6640
10.1892/0891-6640(2007)21[489:SIAPFC]2.0.CO;2
WOS:000246435200021
9643433706163946
Author
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Abstract
Background: Detection of systemic inflammation, which is important for proper diagnosis and prompt treatment, can be challenging.Hypothesis: Measurement of plasma iron concentration is a sensitive method for detecting systemic inflammation in horses compared with measurements of plasma Fibrinogen concentration, a traditional marker for inflammation in the horse.Animals: Ninety-seven horses hospitalized with diseases causing systemic inflammation, 22 horses with localized inflammation, and 12 clinically normal horses were included in this study.Methods: A retrospective study was made on hospitalized horses that had both plasma iron and fibrinogen concentrations measured on hospital admission.Results: Plasma iron concentration was lower in horses with systemic inflammation (64 +/- 45 mu g/dL) than the reference interval minimum (105 mu g/dL) and were significantly lower (P = .001) than the value in a group of horses with local inflammation (123 +/- 45 mu g/dL) and in healthy transported horses (143 +/- 29 mu g/dL). Low plasma iron and high fibrinogen concentrations were both sensitive indicators of systemic inflammation in horses with sensitivity of 90 and 82%, respectively. There was a similar correlation between either continued decreases in iron concentration (R-sp of 0.239) or increases in fibrinogen concentration (R-sp of 0.280) during hospitalization and a worse prognosis.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Measurement of plasma iron concentration better reflected acute inflammation than did fibrinogen concentration.