Fenway's blood test results

[trout]

Bile Acid Test came back high.
WBC at the very upper end of normal.
Protein, Glucose, and Cholesterol are all low.

Notes also say a slightly degranulated Heterophils.

I've already talked to the vet and she's on Baytril, 0.3ml twice a day for two weeks and taking a Milk Thistle/DMG supplement then we'll recheck in 30 days.

Does anyone else have experience with a similar condition? The vet didn't seem to concerned and said it's most likely a mild infection but now after reading I'm wondering if it's possibly just stress. How long does it take for these types of conditions to show up on a test?

Also is there another common name for a bile acid test? I'm not finding that much information on it and some of the things I'm reading just don't make sense.

 

[Billie Faye]

Bile acids are a good test of liver function in psittacine birds. Samples are taken either following a short fast (< 12 hours) or randomly. Most species have normal values less than 100 umol/L and values greater than 150-200 umol/L indicate liver dysfunction. This assay is affected by artifacts like lipids (fats) in the blood and damaged red blood cells (from sample handling).

Taken from:
Basic Avian Clinical Pathology Testing

 

[trout]

Bile acids are a good test of liver function in psittacine birds. Samples are taken either following a short fast (< 12 hours) or randomly. Most species have normal values less than 100 umol/L and values greater than 150-200 umol/L indicate liver dysfunction. This assay is affected by artifacts like lipids (fats) in the blood and damaged red blood cells (from sample handling).

Taken from:
Basic Avian Clinical Pathology Testing

Thanks, her level was 69.6, probably after a fast, unless she snuck a midnight snack. Any guess why the printout says normal is 0-48 umol/L?

 

[Billie Faye]

I think you need to ask your vet....

 

[Billie Faye]

found some more info:
Although reference ranges for bile acid concentrations have not been established for all avian species, bile acid concentrations are considered to be elevated in racing pigeons and most psittacine species if they are > 70 mmol/L in fasted (12-hour) samples. Postprandial bile acid concentrations vary between bird species and are more challenging to interpret.
Taken from:
Overview of Bile Acids in Birds
This is a great article with pictures....
http://avianmedicine.net/articles/7-3cholesterol.pdf

Bile acid assays have been validated in birds as a
means of assessing liver function. In the author’s
opinion, bile acid concentrations >100 mmol/L are
generally significant of hepatic disorders and correlate​

well with histopathologic changes in liver biopsies.
Hope this help you some ....

 

[trout]

thank you

that's one of the ones that started to confuse me, when I googled a conversion from mmol/L to umol/L it came up a 1000 to 1 conversion.

I already have a follow up appt scheduled so I'll be asking all these questions then, just want to make sure I have a thorough list before show up.

edit: so I found it varies by species, the lowest "high end" I could find elsewhere is 70 so that will definitely be one question I will ask.

 

[Billie Faye]

See what you can find on Grey's...not just parrots per se...

 

[ktemkin]

The bile acid test is part of a basic metabolic panel (BMP), commonly referred to as a 'chem panel'.

Is your grey showing any clinical signs? If the liver has been significantly stressed, you'll often notice a yellow/green discoloration of the urine and/or urates. If not, I wouldn't be worried. These levels can peak for short times due to stress, mild infection, or due to environmental or food factors. Typically, a single slightly elevated test isn't alarming; chronic high tests indicate that there may be something to consider.

My Cockatiel, Ada, actually just ran through two tests with some similar results (high liver acid, slightly high lymphocites, low Heterophils, low glucose/protein). He's now on .06ml Enrofloxacin (Baytril) once daily, and milk thistle twice a day, as well as a chelating agent in case of possible heavy metal poisoning. The milk thistle seems to work wonderfully to protect and heal the liver- and it's safe for long term use.