Guinea pig case - bloods and x-rays

Re: Guinea pig case - bloods and x-rays

Niall Taylor — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 10:04:54 GMT

[quote user="CatherineThomas"]I can't really see the cardiac silhouette , looks like there might be pulmonary oedema obscuring it, so I would be concerned about cardiac or respiratory disease.[/quote]

Given the enormous fat pads all around te chest, and the forelimb positioning in the lateral, could this lack of definition be due to overlying soft tissue exacerbated by obesity?

Niall

Re: Guinea pig case - bloods and x-rays

Niall Taylor — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 09:58:47 GMT

[quote user="Tamsin Livermore"]I have recently seen a 10mth old guinea pig who the owner noticed was drinking more and urinating more, nad on exam really, she is quite fat (1.kg) but no other problems i found.[/quote]

It sounds like the only concern in this case is the owner's perception the GPig is drinking more and the main clinical finding is obesity.

Have you quantified this - how much is it drinking, what is the normal water intake for a GPig? Has there been any change in diet which may have affected water intake - more dry food, less greens (in which case could this be Vit C related)? Have they introduced hi sugar treats recently which might be diuresing it?

If it's fat (and it looks like it on the radiographs!) could it be hepatic lipidosis?

The extremely large abdomen would go a long way to explaining the laboured breathing.

Cheers,

Niall

Re: Guinea pig case - bloods and x-rays

Marie Kubiak — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 12:58:51 GMT

Bloods look fine but with renal disease there may be be no marked changes. Monitoring of Ca and Phos are the most useful to check for any progression of any existing renal compromise.

Can you do urine microscopy to evaluate the significance of the proteinuria? A trace is normal in GPs but ++ is more than expected so may be renal protein loss, inflammation/infection. 1.006 is a low SG for a proteinuric GP and does suggest polydipsia or inadequate concentrating capacity. GPs can become polydipsic with oral pain so a careful check of teeth and oral cavity are sensible if drinking is increased.

Cardiac silhouette does look enlarged but as Catherine says the pulmonary changes make exact margins difficult to appreciate. A conscious scan of heart and kidneys is probably a good next step but to have these changes in a 10month old does not bode well for a long and happy life. If you have a small enough cuff try and get a BP as well. Not sure if it just positional but on the DV view the right bulla also looks sclerotic so consider a concurrent otitis media.

Marie

Re: Guinea pig case - bloods and x-rays

CatherineThomas — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 20:06:39 GMT

Those biochemistry results look ok to me but I haven't got lists of normal ranges at home, so not entirely sure.

Are they in-house results? I'd send a sample away to a lab for haematology if you still have some left or at least a blood smear.

I can't really see the cardiac silhouette , looks like there might be pulmonary oedema obscuring it, so I would be concerned about cardiac or respiratory disease.

Have you scanned the bladder, kidneys and ovaries? You could try scanning the heart too.

Re: Guinea pig case - bloods and x-rays

Tamsin Livermore — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 13:51:46 GMT