Blood test results - Can anyone help me understand?

twofatcats

twofatcats

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I picked up a copy of Purdy's last blood test results when I stopped by the vet's office. Purdy had been on Denosyl for two months because of elevated liver enzymes before this test was taken. I believe the ALT was about 123 previously, so that is coming down, but there are a number of other things out of range. The vet only seemed to be concerned about the liver enzymes, but is there anything else here that those of you who understand this stuff would be concerned about or would want to ask the vet about if it were your cat?

I'll list only the things out of range. Purdy is eight years old.

Platelet count 216 (reference 300-800)
Serum glucose 156 (reference 70-125)
Carbon dioxide 16 (reference 17-24)
Phosphorus 2.9 (reference 17-24) Edit: (reference 3.5-6.1)
Osmolality, calculated 313 (reference 270-310)
Gamma gt 0 (reference 1-8)
ALT 98 (reference 5-65)
CK 320 (reference 50-300)
Cholesterol 192 (reference 75-175)
T4, feline 1.5 (reference 1.8-4.5)

I see the glucose is elevated. How how would it have to get before he'd be considered diabetic?
 
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I'll give this a shot...

Platelet count 216 (reference 300-800)

Platelet counts are in hundred thousands. Anything over 200,000 is generally considered to be okay.

Serum glucose 156 (reference 70-125)

This BG level is most likely related to the stress of a vet visit. It would have to be quite a bit higher to raise suspicion of diabetes. Liver disease can cause hypoglycemia so in this case it's definitely not bad to have a reading that's on the high side.

Carbon dioxide 16 (reference 17-24)

Low blood CO2 is associated with liver problems, among other things. In this case the reading is very close to normal, which is good.

Phosphorus 2.9 (reference 17-24)

I'm wondering if a mistake was made in entering these results since the listed reference level is identical to the CO2 reference and doesn't match anything I could find. Based on what I know, a phosphorus level of 2.9 is well within normal range.

Osmolality, calculated 313 (reference 270-310)

High osmolality indicates dehydration. A barely abnormal reading is not in itself a sign of a problem.

Gamma gt 0 (reference 1-8)

This is a liver enzyme. Elevated levels indicate liver disease. Lower than normal levels are not a sign of a problem.

ALT 98 (reference 5-65)

This is the liver enzyme in question. His ALT has actually improved quite a bit.

CK 320 (reference 50-300)

This can indicate muscle damage of some sort, though again the reading is very close to normal so it's probably not a sign of anything significant.

Cholesterol 192 (reference 75-175)

This level is actually fine - up to 250 and sometimes higher is still within normal limits. Low cholesterol is a big indication of liver problems so just like with blood sugar, in this case it's not a bad sign to have a reading that's a little on the high side.

T4, feline 1.5 (reference 1.8-4.5)

False-positive results are actually pretty common on the T4 test. Likely your vet is not concerned because the reading is very close to normal.


In general, reference levels vary from lab to lab so readings that are close to normal can usually be considered okay as long as there are no symptoms.
 
gayef

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Originally Posted by semiferal

I'll give this a shot...

Platelet count 216 (reference 300-800)

Platelet counts are in hundred thousands. Anything over 200,000 is generally considered to be okay.

Serum glucose 156 (reference 70-125)

This BG level is most likely related to the stress of a vet visit. It would have to be quite a bit higher to raise suspicion of diabetes. Liver disease can cause hypoglycemia so in this case it's definitely not bad to have a reading that's on the high side.

Carbon dioxide 16 (reference 17-24)

Low blood CO2 is associated with liver problems, among other things. In this case the reading is very close to normal, which is good.

Phosphorus 2.9 (reference 17-24)

I'm wondering if a mistake was made in entering these results since the listed reference level is identical to the CO2 reference and doesn't match anything I could find. Based on what I know, a phosphorus level of 2.9 is well within normal range.

Osmolality, calculated 313 (reference 270-310)

High osmolality indicates dehydration. A barely abnormal reading is not in itself a sign of a problem.

Gamma gt 0 (reference 1-8)

This is a liver enzyme. Elevated levels indicate liver disease. Lower than normal levels are not a sign of a problem.

ALT 98 (reference 5-65)

This is the liver enzyme in question. His ALT has actually improved quite a bit.

CK 320 (reference 50-300)

This can indicate muscle damage of some sort, though again the reading is very close to normal so it's probably not a sign of anything significant.

Cholesterol 192 (reference 75-175)

This level is actually fine - up to 250 and sometimes higher is still within normal limits. Low cholesterol is a big indication of liver problems so just like with blood sugar, in this case it's not a bad sign to have a reading that's a little on the high side.

T4, feline 1.5 (reference 1.8-4.5)

False-positive results are actually pretty common on the T4 test. Likely your vet is not concerned because the reading is very close to normal.


In general, reference levels vary from lab to lab so readings that are close to normal can usually be considered okay as long as there are no symptoms.
Click to expand...
This is EXCELLENT information. Thank you!
 
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twofatcats

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Thank you so much for all your information!
That calms me a lot. I'm not used to seeing so many things out of range on a test!

Originally Posted by semiferal

Phosphorus 2.9 (reference 17-24)

I'm wondering if a mistake was made in entering these results since the listed reference level is identical to the CO2 reference and doesn't match anything I could find. Based on what I know, a phosphorus level of 2.9 is well within normal range.
Click to expand...
Yes, I did make an error in recording the reference range on this one. It should have read (reference 3.5-6.1)

Edited to add: Woohoo! I see I'm back up to Super Cat again. It took me a whole year to get back up there after last December's problems.
 
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Originally Posted by twofatcats

T4, feline 1.5 (reference 1.8-4.5)
Click to expand...
Hello.


PJ's thyroid was just barely out of range at her annual visit. The vet had us bring her back one month later and it was WAY out of range. I'm so glad that he had us do that - otherwise PJ would have been in serious trouble. We did have the other warning sign of hyperthyroidism in our case - she'd lost weight.

Since I'm familiar with this from the human side, here's my take: watch your cat and see if he's gaining weight. Since he's currently just out of reference on the low side, that would be indicative of hypothyroidism, which is what I have - and I got WAY fat when I wasn't being treated! I was also very lethargic, another sign to watch for. The other thing that can be tested for which can set your mind at least is (if you have the $, of course) ask the vet to do a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test. Unless, of course, you have that information on your bloodwork and it's normal? If a person (and probably a cat) is moving towards hypo or hyperthyroidism as evidenced by too little or too much T3/T4, then TSH will do the opposite of that - so for me, with no T4/T3, my TSH is very high.

Purdy is probably just fine, but that's the information that I can give!
 
sharky

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Thank you for the breakdown
 
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twofatcats

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Thanks for that information on the T4, shambelle. I'll keep an eye on it. Purdy had gained only 2/10 pound in the past couple of months. His weight has varied up and down by only .35 since last March. I have a baby scale at home where I weigh the cats, as all three of them would be overweight if they had their way. Free feeding just did not work. At least I can keep Purdy and Sheba at a pretty even weight, after I got them to lose their flab a year or two ago. Too bad that doesn't work for the obese Red Cat. If I cut down his food, he just goes out and catches another rat.

Purdy is still on the Denosyl every day. (Well, almost every day. Occasionally I forget to put their food away at night, and if I think Purdy may have eaten before getting his meds in the morning, I just skip it, as I understand it would be poorly absorbed with food in the stomach.) But I'll have to take Purdy in for another blood test in another month or two to see if we can cut the med schedule back. I can ask the vet if he thinks a TSH test is warranted at that time.
 
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