Why is my Yorkie's lipase high with no pancreatitis symptoms?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Just because a Lipase is elevated does not automatically indicate that a dog has pancreatitis. Serum lipase and even amylase can increase with multiple other causes, not just pancreatitis. This is why it is difficult to diagnose pancreatitis based on these levels alone. If Diesel is symptomatic for pancreatitis with these values, I would have additional testing performed to help confirm pancreatitis. I would even consider an abdominal ultrasound if possible. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Rocky. Lipase values can be elevated in cases of pancreatitis and occasionally liver and kidney disease. However, it is a not a very sensitive marker of this disease. For this reason, if the remainder of his blood work is normal and he is not acting sick, then I do not worry too much about an elevation in lipase. I hope this information helps!

I would recommend adding on a Spec CpL test to look for pancreatitis, or you can have her referred to a specialty hospital who can perform ultrasound. Bloodwork doesn't always show changes in light of important diseases like cancer or gastrointestinal disease.

The blood work changes you are seeing are not very significant in the absence of any pertinent clinical signs. Increased lipase can be associated with pancreatitis, but usually a follow up blood test would only be done if there was evidence of this condition in Phil's overall health and well being (lethargy, vomiting, pain in the abdomen). MCV / MCHC changes are insigificant in the absence of a concurrent anemia. The alkaline phos change is very small. I would continue to monitor Phil's blood work on a twice yearly basis for the time being unless there are significant changes to his health where it would be warranted more frequently. Hope this helps.

I would not be too worried with what you have described. Lipase has next to no diagnostic significance and some laboratories do not even test for it anymore. The reason being is that lipase can have huge differences in normal dogs. The calcium may or may not be relevant, but on its own is not alarming and does not indicate any one specific problem. Overall, I recommend not focusing too much on the biochemistry results and focusing more on the veterinarian's interpretation. Interpreting biochemistry results is extremely complicated and takes into account multiple findings. The findings on history and physical exam are very important when interpreting lab results, so if Miley Sue is acting normal and the vet has not diagnosed a specific condition, then this indicates that nothing serious is going on she should be fine. Your veterinarian should be able to give you more information regarding the recent results and possible problems. If your vet has not answered your questions fully, then I recommend calling and asking to speak with them. As a vet, I would want to ensure my client fully understands their pet's condition, so I would have no problem taking the time to explain everything. I hope that helps and all is well with Milley Sue.

Pancreatitis is a "spectrum disease" meaning that inflammation of the pancrease, which leads to high levels, can cause anywhere from no clinical signs to severe life threatening signs. We treat symptomatically, so if he is having no signs I would just leave him alone and give his normal diet. You can recheck the values in 2-3 weeks to see if they have come down. Good luck with Jeter.

Feeding him before blood tests is not ideal and can really influence tests results (especially if it is a snap test for pancreatitis). I would recommend to repeat the test with a quantitative one if possible before getting into hospitalisation and treatment which may not be needed.