Effect of trauma on the concentration of selected feline acute phase proteins

ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to evaluate selected acute phase proteins (APPs) in 61 cats (mainly stray, domestic shorthair cats, aged 2 months to 17 years, 39 males and 22 females) presented with acute trauma at a university teaching hospital.MethodsSerum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp), ceruloplasmin and albumin were compared with APPs in a population of healthy cats with similar demographic data and in cats with trauma, considering demographic data, trauma type and localisation (craniofacial and/or vertebral and/or appendicular, thoracic, abdominal and localised, multiple or polytrauma), anti-inflammatory treatment and outcome (survival to discharge or death). APPs were correlated to age, rectal temperature, body weight, total leukocyte, neutrophil, band neutrophil and lymphocyte counts, total protein, albumin:globulin ratio, base excess and hospitalisation duration.ResultsIn cats with acute trauma, the median concentrations of SAA and Hp were significantly higher than in healthy control cats (90.5 vs 0.6 mg/ml and 130.7 vs 58.8 mg/dl, respectively; <i>P</i> <0.0001) and showed a median 150-fold increase and 2.2-fold increase, respectively, relative to healthy cats. Albumin was significantly lower in cats with trauma compared with healthy cats (3.4 vs 3.8 g/dl, respectively; <i>P</i> <0.0001) and in cats with vertebral trauma compared with cats with other trauma localisations. SAA showed a significantly positive correlation with length of hospitalisation (<i>r</i> = 0.488; <i>P</i> = 0.0003) in 50 surviving cats, while albumin showed a significantly negative correlation (<i>r</i> = -0.426; <i>P</i> = 0.0020), in addition to a negative correlation with band neutrophils (<i>r</i> = -0.329; <i>P</i> = 0.0097). In 15 cats with trauma in which APPs were also evaluated at discharge, SAA was significantly lower than at admission.Conclusions and relevanceAcute trauma in cats is associated with significant increases in SAA and Hp and decreases in albumin. Testing SAA and albumin in cats with acute trauma may provide a useful prognostic indicator of length of hospitalisation, but no evaluated APPs are of prognostic value for survival.