Devriendt et al: Evaluation of different blood tests in dogs with extrahepatic portosystemic shunts to assess shunt closure after surgical treatment
Veterinary Surgery 7, 2022

🔍 Key Findings

• Fasting ammonia (FA) was the most specific test (100%) for confirming EHPSS closure postoperatively.
• Serum hyaluronic acid (SHA) and MEGX at 15 minutes post-lidocaine were the most sensitive tests (96.9% and 96.2%, respectively).
• SHA combined with MEGX T15, or with FA or postprandial serum bile acids (SBA), provided 100% sensitivity with good specificity (72.4–82.8%).
• SHA levels remained elevated in all dogs with persistent shunting, even when other tests were normal.
• Paired SBA had moderate sensitivity (90%) and variable specificity (89%).
• The L/MEGX test at 30 min was less useful than at 15 min for assessing closure.
• Traditional SBA testing showed reduced utility postoperatively; normal values did not rule out persistent shunting.
• Blood tests improved when combined, but imaging remains essential to definitively confirm EHPSS closure.