2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

The novel algorithm of pre-post trilostane cortisol better reflected the clinical control, as evidenced by the owners' questionnaire, of hyperadrenocorticism than the post ACTH stimulation cortisol. The pre-post trilostane cortisol should be further investigated as a monitoring tool for dogs receiving trilostane. In cats, non-thyroidal illness (NTI) may result in decreased total thyroxine (T4) concentration, similar to the "euthyroid sick syndrome" in dogs. The pathogenesis of this phenomenon is not completely understood, but may involve suppression of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and reduced thyroid hormone protein binding. Although high TSH and normal T4 concentrations have been reported in humans with chronic kidney, liver, or heart disease, low serum concentrations of T4 and TSH commonly develop with severe NTI in humans. Serum TSH concentrations have not been evaluated in cats with NTI, except for a small number of cats with mild chronic kidney disease in which TSH levels were normal. The objective of this study was to measure TSH in a larger series of cats suffering from a variety of mild-tosevere NTI to determine if the spectrum of TSH concentrations reported in humans also develops in cats.