EXPRESS: Effect of trauma on the concentration of selected feline acute-phase proteins.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To evaluate selected acute phase proteins (APPs) in 61 cats (mainly stray, domestic shorthair aged 2 months to 17 years, 39 males and 22 females) presented with acute trauma at the university teaching hospital of XXX.

Methods

Serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp), ceruloplasmin (Cp) and albumin were compared to APPs in a population of healthy cats with similar demographic data and in cats with trauma considering demographic data, trauma type and localization (craniofacial and/or vertebral and/or appendicular, thoracic, abdominal and localized, multiple or polytrauma), anti-inflammatory treatment, outcome (survival to discharge or death). APPs were correlated to age, rectal temperature, body-weight, total leukocyte, neutrophil, band neutrophil and lymphocyte count, total protein, albumin/globulin ratio, base excess and hospitalization duration.

Results

In cats with acute trauma, SAA and Hp median concentrations were significantly higher than in healthy control cats (90.5 versus 0.6 mg/mL and 130.7 versus 58.8 mg/dL, respectively, P<0.0001) and showed, respectively, a median 150-fold increase and 2.2-fold increase with respect to healthy cats. Albumin was significantly lower in cats with trauma compared to healthy cats (3.4 versus 3.8 g/dL, respectively, P<0.0001) and in cats with vertebral trauma compared to cats with other trauma localizations. SAA showed a significantly positive correlation with length of hospitalization (r=0.488, P=0.0003) in 50 surviving cats, while albumin showed a significantly negative correlation (r=-0.426, P=0.0020) in addition to a negative correlation with band neutrophils (r=-0.329, P=0.0097). In 15 cats with trauma in which APPs were also evaluated at discharge, SAA was significantly lower than at admission.

Conclusion and relevance

Acute trauma in cats is associated with significant increases in SAA and Hp and decreases in albumin. Testing SAA and albumin in cats with acute trauma may provide a useful prognostic indicator of length of hospitalization, but no evaluated APPs are of prognostic value for survival.

SUBMITTER: Spada E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12924940 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature