A research team led by Associate Professor Toshiyuki Tanaka and Dr. Muryo Miki from the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine at Osaka Metropolitan University investigated factors associated with the prognosis of respiratory disorders in dogs. The team analyzed the medical records of 133 dogs seen at an emergency veterinary hospital, including general physical examinations and blood test results. Statistical analysis of 105 survivors and 28 non-survivors revealed significant differences in heart rate, body temperature, white blood cell count, blood glucose, blood urea nitrogen, lactate levels, and, notably, phosphate levels.
The findings showed that, similar to observations in human medicine, elevated phosphate levels in dogs were linked to poor outcomes. The study, published in PLOS One, highlights that respiratory disorders can quickly become critical and are the second leading cause of cardiac arrest in dogs, emphasizing the need for rapid and accurate assessment of disease severity.
While human medicine employs scoring systems that integrate physical exams, blood tests, and respiratory function assessments to evaluate disease severity, veterinary medicine has relatively few reports using indicators beyond respiratory function, and their practical applicability remains unclear.
“To our knowledge, this study is the first to report that phosphate can serve as a prognostic indicator in canine respiratory disorders. Additionally, the markers identified are generally easy to measure, making them widely applicable in different clinical settings,” said Dr. Miki. Associate Professor Tanaka added, “Since this study covered a broad range of respiratory conditions, targeted investigations on specific disorders are needed, and we will continue to explore the causes of elevated phosphate levels.”
