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Originally Posted by GucciBear  Okay, so this is the latest in Gucci's saga . . . After talking with the second vet, and explaining all I had learned from this site, he still felt it necessary to do an ultrasound. They also did another bile acid test, but just like my vet, the test is read in their facility and doesn't register over 30. It simply says it's above 30 - could be 32 or 102. Sooooo, we have to return to my vet for yet another bile acid test which they are sending out to an outside lab for reading - no cost. The ultrasound didn't show anything conclusive, right again, and fortunately they didn't charge me an arm and a leg for the tests. I asked about the protein C test, but didn't appear to understand what I was asking for. I was prepared for the worst, and when they asked for $100 I almost jumped the counter and kissed her! He's not showing any symtoms and even Scott agreed. We'll wait and see. I |
All the information about the Protein C test is in the link I posted in my last post. You can print it out for your vet
Comparative Coagulation -- NYS Animal Health Diagnostic Center
If they are not collecting the sample for the bile acids test properly, the results will be skewed. It doesn't sound like either of your vets know much about current protocol for diagnosing liver disease. As I said before, you can waste a lot of time and money if you don't deal with a vet who is knowledgable.
This is from Dr. Center, the developer of the bile acids test:
The bile acid test is very reliable but the red blood cells MUST be separated from plasma (the clear part of blood) before they are sent to lab for analysis (centrifuged or spun to allow plasma separation from blood cells). Results can be falsely abnormal if the bile acid samples are lipemic (lots of fat IF the fat is not adequately removed by the laboratory analyzing the sample) or if hemolysis (burst red blood cells, makes the plasma red) occurs. The red color interferes with the color of the end point dye in the bile acid test. A clinician can tell if the sample is hemolyzed when they centrifuge the sample to separate the red blood cells from the plasma. If it is hemolyzed they should collect another sample. Drawing blood with a vacutainer needle into a vacutainer (suction of the tube facilitates the collection) may be too traumatic for some red blood cells augmenting hemolysis. Using a syringe and needle or syringe and butterfly needle appears to collect the best samples. After the blood is collected, the needle should be removed from the syringe and the top removed from the vacutainer so that the blood may be gently transferred to the vial. Results of the bile acid test should state if the samples were lipemic or if hemolysis occurred. In this case, the tests should be repeated. PSVA and MVD Research Summary
Dr. Center also recommends that the vet collect the blood in a plain red-top tube versus a serum separator. After the blood clots, it should be spun down and the serum put in another plain red-top to go to the lab.