| Diagnosis | Diagnosis of Cushing’s disease including differentiation between adrenal and pituitary forms. |
| Material | Morning urine 1 ml |
| Execution | - Collection of morning urine day 1 = sample 1
- Collection of morning urine day 2 = sample 2
- Administration of dexamethasone on day 2: orally 3 x 0.1 mg/kg bdw throughout the day
- Collection of morning urine day 3 = sample 3
|
| Parameter | Cortisol, creatinine |
| Species list | Dog |
| Duration | 1 day |
| Assessment | - Interpretation of the ratio of day 1 and day 2:
< 40: Normadrenocorticism, Cushing’s disease is unlikely.
40 – 60: Questionable result
> 60: Hyperadrenocorticism is possible and should be verified by a low-dose dexamethasone test. - Interpretation of the ratio of day 3:
(An increased ratio on day 1 and day 2 is a prerequisite)
> 50% of the average value of the first two samples indicate a cortisol-producing adrenocortical tumour. The presence of nonsuppressible pituitary Cushing’s disease is possible.
< 50% of the average value of the first two samples indicate a pituitary-dependent Cushing’s disease or another disease which causes increased cortisol secretion (diabetes, stress, gastrointestinal diseases, diseases with protein loss).
|
