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Visitor Counter ijlr ?3 Hemato-biochemical and Prevalence Study of Clinical Jaundice in Dog Hirakant Pandurang Vishe1*, Kamlesh Pawar2, Viren Kumar Singh3 1&3 Dept of Vet. Pathology, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari 2 Animal Biochemistry Division, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal. *Email - vet25.hira@gmail.com Abstract Present study was undertaken to understand the prevalence of jaundice in the dogs and to study the hematobiochemical changes concern with the disease accordingly. Dogs (n=33) suffering from clinical jaundice were admitted in Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Animal Hospital, Parel. The data such as age, sex, breed, detailed clinical history, clinical

pathology and treatment, information regarding vaccination history, diet given to the dog was collected. It was observed that the dogs below one year (61%) were affected maximum. The dogs of Labrador (39%) suffered maximum with jaundice. Female dogs (69%) were more commonly affected. Dogs fed with mixed food i.e. homemade food and commercial dog foods were affected most. Most of the affected dogs were vaccinated against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus infection. All the dogs were subjected for liver function test (direct and indirect bilirubin) and maximum percentage of obstructive jaundice (69%) followed by hemolytic jaundice was observed. Keywords-Jaundice, Bilirubin, Hepatitis, Dogs Introduction Jaundice is described as a syndrome characterized by hyperbilirubinemia & deposition of bile pigment in the skin (Ettinger, 2000). Yellow discoloration is often more apparent in the sclera of the eyes, in the skin at the base of the ear, along the gums and in the skin of the abdomen. Jaundice can be classified into three forms depending upon causes: Prehepatic, Hepatic and Post hepatic. Pre-hepatic causes include those occurring before the blood passes through the liver and are also referred to as hemolytic causes. These result from a breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs). Hepatic causes include those, which leads to cholangitis, hepatitis or both cholangio-hepatitis, toxins such as heavy metals (copper), certain chemicals, certain drugs, such as corticosteroids, thiacetarsamide, halothane, phenobarbital, carprofen, chemotherapeutic drugs as well as infections causes viral, bacterial, protozoal which causes inflammatory reactions in the liver. Post-hepatic causes are disorders that occur after blood passes through the liver and include disorders that result in blockage of the bile flow from the liver. The present literature does not mention what predisposes jaundice; hence the present study was carried out to find out epidemiological factors which are responsible for jaundice. Materials and Methods Total 33 dogs presented to Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Animal (BSPCA) Hospital, Parel, Mumbai with apparent clinical signs of yellowish discoloration of mucus membrane were taken for this study. Detailed clinical history, information regarding vaccination and diet [Type of food offered: Commercially available only, Homemade food only or mixed (Commercially available + Homemade)] was collected in all 33 dogs. Information regarding age, sex, breed was also included in the history. For further confirmation and differentiation between types of jaundice, all dogs were subjected to complete blood count, haematobiochemical examination such as liver function test and kidney function test (Benjamin, 1998). Blood samples were obtained from a superficial vein utilizing sterile syringe. One aliquot was used for the estimation of hematological parameters like hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), Total leukocyte count (TLC) and differential leukocyte count (DLC) and second aliquot was used for the serum separation. Different parameters like Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Direct bilirubin (DB), Indirect bilirubin (IB), Total bilirubin (TB), Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and Creatinine were analyzed from the separated serum using commercially available kits (Merck Pvt. Ltd, India), spectrophotometer. The types of jaundice were differentiated on the basis of haematobiochemical alternations and changes

in levels of bilirubin. Sudan staining of fecal smear was done for detection of fat globules from feces (Shastri, 2001) Results and Discussion After analyzing from the history taken, it was observed that mostly young dogs were affected with the jaundice. Out of total cases (n=33), dogs below one year were affected maximum (61%). The reason could be the unavailability of passive immunity to young pups below 6 months from the mother (maternal immunity) (Tizard). Among the different breeds, mostly Labrador suffered with jaundice (39%) followed by Pomeranian, German shepherd and nondescript breeds. This indicates that all pedigree breeds are more susceptible than indigenous breeds. In species wise differentiations, female dogs were found to be mostly affected (69%). The dogs fed with mixed food (i.e. homemade + market food) were affected most (76%) (Figure 1). Besides vaccinations against Distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus infection, the dogs were found susceptible to jaundice. The exact reason for the same was not ruled out. Figure 1 Prevalence of jaundice in the dogs categorized according to age, breed and sex. Lab: Labrador, Pom: Pomeranian, ND: Non descript In the disease condition, packed cell volume (PCV) count was observed to be below in most of the cases however, increased total leukocyte count (TLC) was observed with neutrophilia in most of the cases (Table 1). Table 1Haematological changes in jaundice cases Standard range Control (%) Parameter Hb (gm %) PCV (%) TLC (per cumm) DLC N (%) L (%) E (%) 12 18 37 55 09 13 65 70 20 25 02 05 38 46 38 1 53 38 Above normal (%) 1 8 46 98 1 0 Below normal (%) 61 46 16 1 46 62

Hb: hemoglobin, PCV: packed cell volume, TLC: Total leukocyte count, DLC: differential High levels of ALP were found in the jaundice affected dogs after serum examination in liver function tests (Table 2). Table 2Biochemical changes in jaundice cases Standard range Parameter AST (iu/l) 21-102 61 Normal (%) Above normal Below normal (%) (%) 38 1

ALP (iu/l) DB (mg/dl) IB (mg/dl) TB (mg/dl) BUN (mg/dl) Creatinine (mg/dl)

23-66 1.03-2.05 0.17-8.38 1.71-8.55 10-28 0.5-1.5

23 15 69 30 30 53

76 69 30 69 32 46

1 16 1 1 38 1

ALP: Alkaline phosphatase, AST: Aspartate aminotransferase, DB: Direct bilirubin, IB: Indirect bilirubin, TB: Total bilirubin, BUN: Blood urea nitrogen The data of direct and indirect bilirubin levels indicated more of hemolytic type of jaundice (69%) than obstructive type (30%). This could be due to the reason of dogs suffering from hemoprotozoan infections are mostly show hemolytic type of jaundice which is transmitted by ticks. The blood reports from dogs with higher bilirubin values reported the diseases like babesiosis, ehrlichiosis which were found to be very common in dogs. Hemolytic jaundice is common feature among these animals (Plotnick, 2011). It is also observed that 50% of dogs were suffering from kidney failure along with jaundice. This was due to common infections like leptospirosis, Ehrlichiosis which affected liver as well as kidneys. The presence of steatorrhea (fecal fat) in the jaundiced dogs was identified after Sudan staining. A stool sample showed a large drop of red-orange stained fat under the microscope. Fat absorption is dependent upon bile (which is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder). Absence of bile was due to blockage of the biliary tract which resulted in pale colored fatty stool. References Benzamin M M. 1998. Outline of Veterinary Clinical Pathology. 4th Ed.Iowa State Univ. Press. Chandler E.A, Sutton J.B.,, Thompson D.J., (1984) in Canine Medicine and Therapeutics - Second Edition Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford Ettinger Stephan J (2000) volume1 Textbook of small animal medicine. Plotnick Arnold; as shown on 10th may, 2011 at 7:31 pm on website http://www.petplace.com/dogs/babesiosis/page2.aspx Shastri Ghanti.A (2001) 7th Ed. Veterinary pathology. CBS Publishers and distributors New Delhi India Tizard Ian R.(2009) In : Veterinary Immunology: An Introduction, 8th Edition