Influence of Breed Size, Age, Fecal Quality, and Enteropathogen Shedding on Fecal Calprotectin and Immunoglobulin A Concentrations in Puppies During the Weaning Period

Grellet, A.; Heilmann, R.M.; Polack, B.; Feugier, A.; Boucraut-Baralon, C.; Grandjean, D.; Grützner, N.; Suchodolski, J. S.; Steiner, J.M.; Chastant-Maillard, S.

To assess the association between enteropathogens sheddings and fecal IgA and calprotectin concentrations in puppies, 4 statistical models were performed for each marker. In a first step, univariate analyses (Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests) were performed to evaluate a possible association of each factor on either fecal marker. Variables examined included age of puppies (5-6/7-8/9-11 weeks of age), breed size (small/large), fecal quality (normal/abnormal), G. inestinalis, C. ohioensis complex, C. canis, Toxocara canis, CPV2, and CCV shedding (yes/no), shedding of ≥1virus (yes/no), shedding of ≥1parasite (yes/no), and shedding of ≥1 enteropathogen (yes/no). In a second step, relationships between shedding of enteropathogens and fecal marker concentrations were evaluated in 3 different linear mixed models for each marker. In a first linear mixed model, effects of each pathogen (shedding of each pathogen [yes/no]) on either marker were evaluated. In a second linear mixed model, influence of the type of enteropathogens (shedding of ≥1 parasite [yes/no] and shedding of ≥1 virus [yes/no]) on either fecal marker was evaluated. In a last linear mixed model, global effect of enteropathogens (shedding of ≥1 enteropathogen [yes/no]) on both fecal markers was evaluated. In all of these mixed models, breed size and age of puppies were included as fixed effects and litter variable nested within breeding kennel was defined as a random term. For each model, the normality of residuals distribution was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. According to residuals distribution for each of the multivariable models, the outcome was log transformed (fecal calprotectin concentration) or rank transformed (fecal IgA concentration). Differences were considered significant for P values <.05. Quantitative data are presented as medians with ranges.