Bird 6 pt 2 Flashcards
increased TP in birds could mean?
Dehydration
Hemolysis
Vitellogenesis
decreased TP in birds could mean?
Chronic disease
Emaciation
Chronic protein loss
Bleeding
GI parasitism
Molting (dilution effect)
problems with liver enzyme readings in birds
*Liver
- Several analytes needed as none is highly specific and sensitive
- Have different half-lives
- Gives different information
What do GGT levels tell us in birds? reptiles?
induced expression during cholestasis, not useful in reptiles
what does high GLDH in birds tell us?
Hepatic tissue necrosis/damage
High AST, LDH, CK point to what?
non-specific tissue damage
High AST, LDH, low CK point to what?
hepatic tissue damage
High AST, low LDH, high CK could mean what?
non-specific tissue damage, or hepatic tissue damage
high CK can be due to:
- Non-specific tissue damage
- Muscle damage
- Capture myopathy (marked elevations)
- Chronic tissue damage (neoplasia)
- Seizures
- Intramuscular injections
how high do enzyme levels have to go before clinically significant?
Increase more than 3-4fold for clinical significance
how can IM injections change AST and CK levels, and for how long?
Previous IM injection may increase AST and CK for up to 3-5 days
LDH has a high concentration in what cells?
RBC
clinical enzymology sensitivity for chronic metabolic disorders
Low sensitivity for chronic
metabolic disorders
- Hepatic lipidosis
- Iron storage disease
- Amyloidosis
are bile acids a good marker for hepatic function in birds?
- when are they raised?
*Bile acids: high sensitivity and specificity
- Post-prandial increase in all birds
- Functional liver disease
- Congestive heart failure
are bilirubin levels useful in birds? why? when do they increase?
Bilirubin: increase with severe disease, but limited usefulness (lack of biliverdin reductase)
why might we see yellow plasma in birds? is it biliverdin? why?
*Biliverdin not measurable
- Excreted quickly through the kidneys
- Rare to see hyperbiliverdinemia or green tinge to mucous membranes
*Yellow plasma due to carotenoids most commonly
how do cholesterol levels change with cholestasis?
Increase in cholesterol with cholestasis
when might we see a decrease in hepatic metabolites? is this common?
Decrease in hepatic metabolites
uncommon or very advanced
disease (e.g. ISD in mynahs)
- Uric acid
- Glucose
- Total protein
how much nephron loss corresponds to hyperuricemia? when else might we see this condition?
- May need up to 70% nephrons loss
- Increase in dehydration, but not in mild
dehydration
what birds have a post-prandial increase in uric acid/ renal parameters? how long will it last?
- Carnivorous, piscivorous, insectivorous species
- May be as high as pathologic increase
- May last more than 24h after a meal
what happens if uric acid concentration in blood get very high?
Uric acid precipitates at high
concentrations in tissues
- Urate nephrosis
- Articular gout (chronic)
- Visceral gout (acute)
when do we see increased urea in birds?
Increase in dehydration in birds (prerenal
azotemia)
when does green urine mean in birds? red urine?
- Green: biliverdinuria
- Red: lead poisoning (porphyrin or hemoglobin) or
capture myopathy
are urine dipsticks useful in birds? why?
- Low clinical utility, mainly useful for glucose
- Birds’ main ketone is BHBA not aceto-acetate, so
dipstick won’t work - Biliverdinuria vs bilirubinuria
- Other analytes of low value because of post-renal modification of urine and mixing with feces
how do avian glucose levels differ from mammals? what do avian RBCs use as fuel? are glucose meters reliable in birds?
*Avian blood glucose twice that of mammals (10-20 mmol/L)
*RBC uses FA not glucose
*Glucometers not reliable in birds
in what avian species is diabetes mellitus common?
what are their glucose levels?
- Common in mynahs and toucans
- Very high glucose (40-60 mmol/L)
can we detect avian ketones with a urine dipstick? why?
- Ketonuria not detected on dipstick and
ketone-meter as main ketone is different
parameters to measure for diabetes mellitus in birds
- Glucosuria (dipstick)
- Can measure BHBA and fructosamine
DDX for hypoglycemia in birds
- Anorexia in young bird/neonates (rarely
starvation) - Sepsis
DDx for high cholesterol in birds
- Post-prandial increase
- Biliary stasis
- Dyslipidemia and high fat diet
- Female bird reproductive physiology
- Associated with a number of lipid- accumulation disorders
> Hepatic lipidosis
> Lipomas
> Atherosclerosis
> Obesity
calcium levels and regulation in birds vs mammals
*Similar regulation as mammals
*iCa similar concentrations
*Female reproductive physiology
> Hypercalcemia (iCa stable)
> High calcium exchange in the shell
gland (highest ion transport in animals)
common reasons for hypocalcemia in birds
- African grey parrots
- Zinc toxicosis
- Nutritional hyperparaT
- Sepsis (ionized)
- Egg laying in deficient birds
- Overheparinization (iCa)
- Clot in sample
reasons for hypercalcemia in birds
- Vitamin D toxicosis (macaws, reptiles)
- Rodenticides
- Dehydration
- Reproductive physiology/diseases (iCa
normal) - Lymphoma (very rare)
- Lipemia
what are thyroid hormone levels like in birds? how can we diagnose hypothyroidism?
- tT4 and fT4 have low concentrations
- Cannot diagnose hypothyroidism without stimulation test
nucleated blood cells in birds means that we have to count how if we want an accurate result?
manually
If marked leukocytosis, think:
aspergillosis, Chlamydia, Mycobacteria
best liver marker for birds
bile acids
what is required to accurately measure albimun / globulins in birds
Electrophoresis
