As originally published by Dr. Dan Hebert in Duxbury Neighbors Magazine, 2017
This month’s question is just as common on the human side of things as in veterinary medicine and relates to certain annual testing that is recommended in “healthy” patients. I put “healthy” in quotes because, even with humans, we can feel fine and still have underlying issues. This is worse on the veterinary side because our patients aren’t able to communicate that they are not feeling well. That is where this testing come in. Basically, it separates doctors from psychics with the biggest difference being that we can provide actual helpful information about your pets. There are different kinds of tests for different pets so we will take a look at the most common.
Pets aren't able to communicate that they are not feeling well
Disease screening
Most people are quite used to testing their dogs for heartworm every year, but in the last 15 years or so, it has become recommended to also screen for certain tick diseases as well. Most of these diseases, like Lyme and Anaplasmosis, can be fatal if caught after the dogs are already sick. So, waiting until symptoms show is not recommended. In addition, several fatal syndromes that were attributed to vaccine reactions have now been linked to these diseases. Many involve the body attacking itself in the locations where these disease set up shop and destroying it. In Lyme, it can cause fatal kidney damage. With the other diseases, it can attack the blood requiring expensive transfusions. So, we do our best to check for these diseases before doing major vaccinations. The most common screen tests for four diseases in about 5 minutes and is called a 4Dx.
Wellness Blood Screens
This is the same kind of screening recommended by human physicians on a regular basis with the thought being “Everything on the outside looks good, lets make sure everything on the inside is as well”. In my case, blood work in my mid-thirties revealed that, despite my healthy and active lifestyle, I had the blood cholesterol level of an egg yolk. Considering my first sign of this without lab work could have been a massive heart attack in my forties, I was happy to know about it. It allowed me to make more changes and do more regular checks in case I needed medication. The same holds true for veterinary patients, but the frequency is even more important. You have to remember that pets are aging at 3-7 human years for every calendar year. So, where humans have their blood work checked no less frequently than every 3 years, it is recommended to check animals’ blood work every 12 to 6 months.
For young animals, we usually check a blood count to see how the blood cells are looking, as well as a basic blood chemistry. This checks the liver, kidneys, and other major organ functions to screen for progressive disease that should be caught and treated early for the best long term results. Many patients have defects from birth for which the body will compensate for some time, but not for life. These include, but are far from limited to kidney defects, heart abnormalities, and liver circulation issues. The damage from these problems is usually irreversible if allowed to progress too far.
Older patients have a more comprehensive chemistry panel run and we will often check hormone levels and urine samples. The most common hormone testing is for thyroid disease. Dogs often have low thyroid hormone levels leading to weight gain, liver issues, and arthritis. Cats will get the opposite in high thyroid levels leading to weight loss, heart disease, and kidney damage. Both of these issues are easily treated or cured if caught in time.
Fecal Screening
This screening checks for intestinal parasites. There are different forms of the tests, but the most common involves looking for the eggs shed by the parasites within the stool itself. While the benefit this knowledge has for the pet is obvious (being able to treat a gross parasite that is eating away inside their intestines), it has serious human implications as well. Some of these parasites can get into people and cause far worse problems. In the case of the feline roundworm, it is very common to have the worm infect young children and actually leave the intestinal tract and migrate to the eye. There, it will live and grow in the retina causing blindness. Fecal screening is recommended at least annually, though the CDC prefers testing every 6 months, especially in households with children.