Measurement of serum C-reactive protein concentration for discriminating between suppurative arthritis and osteoarthritis in dogs

Table 1 Characterisation of dogs with osteoarthritis (OA), suppurative arthritis and healthy dogs

Parameter	Median (IQR)			P values
Parameter	Osteoarthritis (n = 34)	Suppurative arthritis (n = 31)	Healthy (n = 17)	Suppurative arthritis vs OA	Healthy vs OA
Age (years)	2.7 (0.9-6.2)	4.2 (1.6-7.5)	1.8 (1.2-2.7)	0.19	0.33
Weight (kg)	32 (24–39)	28 (19–33)	14 (13–15)	0.11	<0.001
Serum CRP (mg/l)	0.73 (<0.50-2.45)	107 (43–145)	1.26 (0.62-2.32)	<0.001	0.29
Serum IL-6^a (pg/ml)	15.0 (10.2-26.5)	101 (47.7-243)	9.2 (8.0-11.4)	<0.001	0.07
Synovial fluid IL-6^b (pg/ml)	131 (21.5-450)	19 800 (4030- > 20 000)	<2.4 (<2.4-3.9)	<0.001	<0.001
Sex (male/female)	17/17	18/13	12/5	0.62	0.23
NSAID treatment (treatment/no treatment)	22/12	5/26	0/17	<0.001	<0.001

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP), serum interleukin (IL) 6 and synovial fluid IL-6 concentrations in dogs with osteoarthritis (OA), suppurative arthritis, and in healthy dogs. Data is presented as median and interquartile range (IQR). Pairwise comparisons were performed between groups of dogs with OA and suppurative arthritis, and between dogs with OA and healthy dogs. NSAID; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
^aSerum IL-6 results available from dogs with OA (n = 29), suppurative arthritis (n = 29), and healthy dogs (n = 7)
^bSynovial fluid IL-6 results available from dogs with OA (n = 19), suppurative arthritis (n = 29), and from healthy dogs (n = 14)

ISSN: 1746-6148