Clinical diagnosis of pancreatitis in cats is challenging. Clinical signs are non-specific, and most available serum tests, including serum amylase and lipase activities and feline trypsin-like immunoreactivity (fTLI) lack specificity and/or sensitivity in this species. Serum specific feline pancreatic lipase (Spec fPL) is currently the most useful serum test for pancreatitis in cats. Based on this test, a rapid, in-clinic, semi-quantitative test for the estimation of fPL (SNAP fPLTM) in serum has been developed. Currently, no studies have evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of this tool for pancreatitis in cats. The aim of this study was to evaluate the specificity of SNAP fPL in two groups of cats: a) healthy cats and b) sick cats without clinical suspicion of pancreatitis.

A total of 196 cats were included in the study. Of them, 105 were clinically healthy (based on history and physical examination) and 91 cats were sick. The group of sick cats consisted of cats with a wide variety of diseases, for which pancreatitis was not considered a major differential or for which a final diagnosis other than pancreatitis that would explain the clinical signs was available. Whole blood was collected from all cats, and serum was separated and stored until analysis. The SNAP fPL test was performed and interpreted according to the manufacturer's instructions. Specificity was calculated for each group of cats separately and for both groups combined.

A total of 8 of the 196 cats (4.1%) were found to have an abnormal SNAP fPL result. All 8 cats belonged to the group of sick cats. The specificity of SNAP fPL was 100% and 91.2% among healthy and sick cats, respectively, with an overall specificity of 95.9%.

The SNAP fPL test has a high specificity for pancreatitis in both healthy cats and sick cats without clinical suspicion of pancreatitis. An abnormal SNAP fPL result is not always indicative of pancreatitis and should be followed by quantitative analysis. In addition, due to the lack of histopathologic examination of the pancreas, subclinical pancreatic inflammation cannot be excluded in any of the 8 cats with abnormal SNAP fPL results. Further studies are needed to evaluate the specificity of this diagnostic tool in cats with clinical signs compatible with pancreatitis but no histopathologic evidence of pancreatitis.

Disclosures

Disclosures to report.
1) Dr. Xenoulis has presented lectures sponsored by IDEXX Laboratories in the past. 2) The SNAP fPL tests were provided by IDEXX but had no involvement in the design of the study or the interpretation of the results.