You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Description
The normal reference ranges for plasma inorganic phosphate are as follows :

• Dog (adults)  0.8-1.66mmol/l (1.4-2.9mEq/l ; 2.5-5 mg/dl)
• Dogs under 1 year age 1.6-3.2 mmol/l (2.9-5.8mEq/l ; 5-10 mg/dl)
• Cats (all ages) 1.3-2.6 mmol/l (2.3-4.7 mEq/l ; 4-8 mg/dl

 Blood phosphate concentrations increase under a variety of circumstances including :

• Renal failure. Both chronic renal failure and acute renal failure  result in decreased excretion of phosphorus. In addition there is stimulation of parathyroid hormone activity which increases both phosphorus and calcium release from the skeleton.
• In familial renal diseases such as Fanconi Syndrome and renal cortical hypoplasia.
• Rupture of the bladder - due to a failure to eliminate phosphorus from the body.
• Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism - due to a high meat or offal ration which is low in calcium content.
• Hypervitaminosis D - following oversupplementation
• Primary hyperparathyroidism
• Destructive primary or secondary bone tumours
• Feline hyperthyroidism
• Feline hypoadrenocorticism (rare)
• Acromegaly in female dogs

Pitfalls

• False positives - young dogs under 1 year of age.
• Errors due to haemolysis of the blood sample

Last updated : October 2013