Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Congenital portosystemic shunt (PSS) is a vascular anomaly forming a direct communication between portal and central venous systems, thus bypassing the liver. This condition is related to various clinical symptoms including those manifesting in the central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, and urinary tract. Treatment of PSS includes medical management and surgery. When evaluating prognosis of dogs with PSS, serum biochemistry profiles including serum bile acid (SBA) and ammonia concentrations are routinely used as screening tests. However, the use of SBA concentration in Maltese is controversial because it can be measured above the reference range even in normal dogs of this breed. In addition, utilizing SBA levels to assess surgical prognosis of PSS is not widely understood in this breed. Thus, the present study evaluated whether SBA could be used as a screening test for PSS in Maltese dogs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of dogs in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital from 2018 to 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 23 dogs with PSS and 30 Maltese dogs without PSS were analyzed. Although preoperative SBA levels were significantly higher in Maltese dogs (192 μmol/l) than in other dog breeds (137 μmol/l) with portocaval shunt, its concentrations were significantly decreased after surgery in both Maltese and other breeds of dogs. No significant difference was observed in postoperative SBA levels between Maltese and other dog breeds. The mean SBA levels for Maltese dogs without PSS (8 μmol/l) were within the reference interval (0-25 IU/l). CONCLUSION: Measuring pre- and post-operative SBA levels to evaluate prognosis of PSS might also be available for Maltese.