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Year :	1995
Tome :	146
Volume :	6
Pages :	421-426
Title :	Diagnostic significance of plasma ammonia in dogs
Authors :	L. RETS-DESMERIE, O. DOSSIN, D. CONCORDET, J.F. GUELFI, D. ECLACHE et J.P. BRAUN
Summary :	Plasma ammonia was measured with unitary stabilized reagents (multilayer slides) in 310 dogs of various breeds, ages and sex. Frequent values do not depend on age (except in newborns in which they are almost two times higher) nor on sex or size. They were 43 +/- 6 µmol/l (m +/- SD). Using 60 µmol/l as a limit of discrimination, no increase was observed in trauma and in diseases of the eyes, skin, endocrine and sex glands, nervous system, pancreas, urinary tract. In animals having disease of the liver or of the liver and other organs, specificity was high : 0.95 and sensitivity was low : 0.25. As a result, negative predictive value of this test is low. On the contrary, positive predictive value is higher than 0.50 when pre-test probability is higher thon 0.16. This test is thus useless as a screening test but can be useful for the diagnosis of some liver diseases when pre-test probability ranges from 0.25 to 0.75.
Keywords :	plasma - liver diseases - ammonia - dog.
Correspondence :	O. DOSSIN
Adress :	Département des Sciences cliniques des animaux de sport et de loisirs, École Nationale Vétérinaire, 23, Chemin des Capelles, F-31076 Toulouse Cedex