Dear Colleague,

            We have recently completed an effort to re-adjust the reference range for serum fPLI concentration. Adjustments of the reference range become necessary as in-house immunoassays experience a certain amount of drift over time. In other words – the adjustment of the reference range is due to changes of the assay and not due to changes of serum fPLI concentrations in the cat population. We enrolled a total of 111 healthy cats and measured their serum fPLI concentrations. The new reference range was calculated by the central 95th percentile of results from these 111 cats and is 4.1 to 12.9 µg/L. Our interpretations for fPLI results will change accordingly.

< 4.1 µg/L                   Decreased serum fPLI concentration can be clinically insignificant, but can also be seen in cats with EPI. A serum fTLI should be evaluated to rule out EPI.

4.1 to 12.9 µg/L          Serum fPLI concentration within the reference range.

13.0 to 18.0 µg/L        Mildly increased serum fPLI concentration can be associated with mild chronic pancreatitis. Patient should be evaluated for risk factors and concurrent conditions and fPLI should be monitored.

18.1 to 36.0 µg/L        Moderately increased serum fPLI concentration is associated with pancreatitis. Patient should be evaluated for risk factors and concurrent conditions and fPLI should be monitored.

> 36.0 µg/L                 Severely increased serum fPLI concentration is associated with pancreatitis. Patient should be evaluated for risk factors and concurrent conditions. Supportive and symptomatic care is indicated dependant on the condition of the patient. Serum fPLI should be monitored to evaluate progression of disease.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns (phone: 979-862-2861; FAX: 979-862-2864; e-mail: gilab@cvm.tamu.edu). Thank you very much for your patronage!

 

Jörg M. Steiner, med.vet., Dr.med.vet., PhD, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA
Associate Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine and Director of the GI Lab

Jan S. Suchodolski, med.vet., Dr.med.vet., PhD
Research Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the GI Lab