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.

If a blood sample is lipaemic laboratory results will be difficult to interpret

The presence of fat in a blood sample can significantly alter the laboratory results when the sample is tested, making interpretation very difficult. Values that may be affected include the following :

• Haematology
  • Increased Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC)
• Blood Chemistry
  • Increased Albumin
  • Increased Bilirubin
  • Increased Calcium
  • Increased Glucose
  • Increased Phosphate
  • Increased Total Protein (Biuret method)
  • Unreliable albumin:globulin ratio
  • Decreased amylase
  • Decreased potassium
  • Decreased sodium

Lipaemia also increases the likelihood of the sample developing haemolysis...another factor that can affect blood test results.

Blood samples should be collected after a period of fasting (12 hours) to minimise the likelihood of physiological lipaemia being present. The value of submitting severely lipaemic samples for analysis for some of the above parameters should be questioned. The effects of lipaemia should be borne in mind when interpreting laboratory results derived from lipaemic blood samples.

Last updated : October 2013