Are high liver test results serious for my dog if he acts normal?

Most of the parameters that are reading outside the normal range on this lab work are not likely to be significant and I can list what is abnormal and tell you what that could mean: 1. Slightly elevated leukocytes (white blood cells): while this can be a sign of infection or inflammation a slight elevation is more commonly seen with mild stress and may not be significant 2. Mild elevation in PCV (packed cell volume or red blood cells): this can be seen with dehydration or in very rare cases bone marrow disease; it is also common for some dogs to run slightly high for no significant reason 3. Elevated MCHC (mean cell hemoglobin concentration) only significant if the red blood cell level is low 4. Elevated ALP (alkaline phosphatase, a liver enzyme): can increase with liver or gallbladder disease, increases in cortisol, or bone lesions, but more commonly will be non-specific finding 5. Mildly elevated total bilirubin: can increase with gallbladder disease or anemia, but more likely to be a non-specific finding and potentially due to changes with the blood sample itself 6. Low BUN (blood urea nitrogen): can decrease with severe liver failure but there are not changes consistent with liver failure on blood work so it is a non-specific change With all laboratory values there is a general range that is considered 'normal' but there is always a certain percentage of dogs that will be normal and still fall outside this range. I would of course defer to your veterinarian's interpretation of the lab work since they know Bruno's history and physical exam findings which might change the interpretation.

Hello, and thanks for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would classify those liver elevations as mild to moderately elevated. Liver values can be quite fluctuant - those elevations are somewhat nonspecific and simply indicate that there is higher liver cell turnover than what would typically be normal. This can be due to anything inflammatory, infectious, cancerous, or otherwise disturbing to the liver. A blood test alone cannot usually say exactly why the liver values are elevated - to have more information, a liver function test such as bile acids could be run, or the liver could be evaluated via ultrasound to make sure it still has normal architectural appearance. If these results are 8 months old, then the best next step would simply be to repeat a liver panel of bloodwork, and see if those values have remained elevated. It's very possible they may have normalized by now; if they haven't, your vet can discuss the best next step with Bear's other history and exam findings. If the values are still elevated but you choose not to pursue further diagnostic testing, there are liver protective medications that your vet may recommend to help protect the liver from oxidative damage. Hope this helps!

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. ALT is an enzyme that is released when liver cells are damaged. The normal values are usually less than 100. Unfortunately, the presence of the enzyme does not indicate the cause or reversibility of the damage, nor does it tell us if this is recent, but temporary damage, or on-going problems with the liver. Toxins, including plants, medications, such as steroids, viruses, & endocrine diseases can all cause increases in ALT. If Kobee is not having any problems, then I would recommend retesting in 6 weeks. If Kobee is sick, there are many more diagnostic tests that can be conducted to try & get to the cause of the problem. Often, we actually never find this out, & dogs do very, very well with moderately elevated values. We actually do not even get concerned until the values are at least 3xs normal, or there are other parameters that are abnormal. If Kobee is well, then all I might recommend is discussing with your vet about putting him on a neutroceutical called Denamarin. It can help with oxidative changes in the liver. I hope he does well. Take care.

There are many different causes that would include hepatitis (which can be bacterial or sterile), cancer, or an issue with his gallgladder. The next step I would recommend is an abdominal ultrasound with fine needle aspirate (FNA) to try to get some information about what is going on in the liver, and possibly a biopsy of the liver after that. The other courses of action is to try treating him to various medications to see if anything helps -- however this doesn't really make sense if he has no signs of illness. Or finally, doing nothing and checking again in 2 months to see if they are rising or staying the same. Sometimes we decide not to get to the bottom of something when there are no clinical signs.

I assume when you say liver enzymes you mean ALT? There a few enzymes we look at and elevation in 1 value makes us consider different causes then elevation in another. ALT elevation is caused make liver cell injury and leakage of enzymes in to the bloodstream. As the liver sees all the blood of the body it can be quite a reactive organ. So the question is whether the liver enzyme is up because of something wrong with the liver/vessels to liver themselves (such as an infectious or inflammatory cause (hepatitis) or a shunt (more common in younger dogs)) or something the liver is responding too (toxicity, disease of over organs). Unfortunately all parts of sago palm are toxic to dogs with the seeds (nuts) being most toxic. And it can be quite challenging to know if this is the cause. If it is sago it depends on the degree of ingestion as to how severe the case is. Unfortunately the treatment for this is supportive as you have been doing. The values may continue to increase or hopefully may plateau off and remain mildly elevated or decrease again. Ultrasound will help to rule out other things going on in the abdomen, assess the liver for changes in texture (although a liver can appear normal on an ultrasound and not be functionally normal), and sometimes identify a portosystemic shunt. After the ultrasound then sampling either first by fine needle aspirate or with a biopsy (needed for many cases of hepatitis, some other issues) can be performed. Checking platelets and clotting times should be performed prior to liver sampling in patients whose livers are not normal to decrease the risk of bleeding from sampling. As shunts are more common in younger animals , if this is suspected, additional imaging may be recommended prior to sampling as ultrasound will not identify all shunts. There is also a disorder called microvascular dysplasia that can be found in the liver. This is best diagnosed by liver biopsy and the sample sent to a pathologist who specializes in liver pathology. I hope this has helped and not confused you more. It sounds like your vet has taken the appropriate steps thus far and has recommended the next best steps to try to rule out some other causes. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Luna! Can you post the blood work results so we can see the normal ranges from this lab and the units of measure? Also WHY was the blood work done, was she sick? Was it a routine screening? For a young growing large breed the ALP doesn't really worry me by US measure (again I don't know your labs reference ranges or what units of measure). The ALP can be increased in growing puppies due to bone growth. Also if this isn't an animal lab and is based off human values I am not sure we can really believe the results. Her values should be measured against normal dog ranges. To be honest I think her values are likely normal for a puppy. Please take a picture of the blood work and repost. We can help you much better that way. Have a good day

Since young dogs are still growing it is always possible for liver values to be elevated. The AST and ALP can normally be elevated in younger dogs. I would not be concerned unless Bruno is acting ill. If he has any vomiting, diarrhea or anorexia I would recommend taking him to the vet for an exam