Allison L. O'Kell

Background Sampling from a peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) might be a more efficient and less traumatic collection of blood for serum biochemistry (SB) or CBC than direct venipuncture (DV). Agreement between results of samples obtained by these methods has not been evaluated in dogs. Objectives The primary objectives were to determine whether sampling from PIVC could be used in place of DV for dogs. We hypothesized DV and PIVC samples would have clinically equivalent SB and CBC results. Animals Sixty‐one client‐owned dogs were included in each study arm. Methods This was a partially randomized method‐comparison study. Paired DV and PIVC samples obtained within 1 to 2 minutes after, or approximately 24 hours after, placement of a PIVC in a cephalic vein were evaluated for agreement and bias using percentage difference plots (with a priori application of consensus total allowable error), Bland‐Altman analysis, Passing‐Bablok regression analysis, Wilcoxon signed rank test, and McNemar's test. Results There was statistically and clinically acceptable agreement and no bias between sampling methods for the majority of results. Analytes with the most frequent disagreement were aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, potassium, bicarbonate, and leukocyte differential counts, as well as red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and packed cell volume in the hospitalized PIVC sampling group. Few observed differences would change clinical decision making. Conclusions and Clinical Importance PIVC sampling can provide generally acceptable SB and CBC results for most dogs, but clinicians should be aware of a few values for which disparate results might occasionally be obtained.

Background Liver disease is frequently cited as a cause of gastroduodenal ulceration (GDU) in dogs but studies regarding GDU and liver disease are limited. Objectives To document the presence of GDU in dogs with liver disease. Animals Forty dogs that underwent liver biopsy, computed tomographic (CT) angiography or both at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital to diagnose congenital or acquired liver disease. Methods Cross‐sectional study. Dogs had gastroduodenoscopy performed with photographic and video documentation in a standardized fashion. Lesions (hemorrhage, erosions, ulcers) in the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum were scored based on a grading scale. Presence of esophageal varices was recorded. Dogs were categorized into 4 groups according to cause of liver disease (inflammatory disease, cirrhosis, congenital, other). Presence or absence of ulcers, erosions or both as well as total endoscopic scores were compared among groups. Results Forty dogs were enrolled with the following distribution: 13 congenital, 13 inflammatory, 3 cirrhosis, and 11 other. Four dogs had GDU (10%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3%‐24%) and 6 dogs had erosions (15%; 95% CI, 6%‐30%). No difference was found in total endoscopic score ( P = .21) or in the proportion of dogs with ulcers, erosions or both versus those without ( P = .25) among the groups. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Gastroduodenal ulceration was found in 10% of dogs with liver disease in this population. Additional studies are warranted to confirm these findings in larger numbers of dogs with specific disease etiologies.