2017 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

Dogs histologically diagnosed with chronic hepatitis between January 2003 and January 2013 at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Texas A&M University were retrospectively enrolled. Only dogs for which sufficiently detailed follow-up medical records were available were included in the study. For each dog the time of liver biopsy, survival time, and cause of death or euthanasia were recorded. Hepatic fibrosis was staged by a board-certified veterinary pathologist (ARH) using a 5-point scoring system adapted from the Ishak scoring system (absent, mild, moderate, marked, very marked). The survival of dogs with absent to moderate and marked to very marked hepatic fibrosis was compared using Kaplan-Meyer survival curve analysis and the Mantel-Cox test. Statistical significance was set as P < 0.05.