34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

Digestive tract surgeries are commonly performed in veterinary medicine; however, identifying surgical site dehiscence remains challenging. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase protein, useful as an early indicator of inflammation. CRP concentrations and kinetics following digestive tract surgeries in small animals were not investigated. This study aimed to determine the serum CRP levels in dogs following uncomplicated digestive tract surgeries.

Methods:

This monocentric clinical prospective study included all dogs admitted to our hospital for a digestive tract surgery and had no postoperative complications. The serum CRP was measured the day before the surgery and daily for three days post-surgically. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed to detect differences in CRP values at each time point.

Results:

The included 27 dogs were treated by gastric, enteral, or colorectal surgeries. The mean preoperative and 24-, 48-, and 72-hour postoperative CRP concentrations were above the reference range (0–10 mg/L). CRP levels increased postoperatively in 88.9% of the dogs, reaching its peak level 24 hours postoperatively. CRP tended to decrease rapidly in patients with an uncomplicated postoperative course.

Conclusions:

Preoperative CRP concentrations in dogs with digestive tract surgeries were above the normal reference range and were not associated with prognosis. Increased CRP levels are expected during the postoperative period, typically peaking during the first day. These levels tend to decrease rapidly during an uncomplicated postoperative course.