Elevated ALT levels

[Adi]

Hi I am first time member and owner of my Frenchie! My boy is now 13 months old and we have been
trying to figure out his elevated liver enzymes. Went for routine blood work before having him castrated.I was feeding him raw diet for the first ten months but with elevated ALT have been cooking
Home food last three months. His ALT was 543 than after a month on Denamarin and milk thistle 392.
Now after another two months of detox it is 637. We did a bile acid test after the first blood work and
that was slightly elevated but inclusive not high enough. So he has no symptoms otherwise. He is a pure breed and the breeder won’t respond to me, so no advice there. Any one else that is having this issue would greatly appreciate advise! Thank You

 

[mhuinker]

Giving Bitty her twice weekly sub-q fluids....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Ange Skaggs]

I have a male Frenchie that is 18 months old and I have been dealing with the same liver issues as you describe. He has had a liver ultra sound which was relatively normal and then put on antibiotics for a month. His enzyme level decreased but after being off antibiotics for a month his enzymes have elevated again. I have had him to veterinary specialists and have received no answers for his condition. Just wondering if you have received a diagnosis for yours. Thank you

 

[Honeys Owners]

So many possible reasons:
1)infectious causes such as:
Viral: infectious canine hepatitis, canine herpesvirus
Bacterial: leptospirosis, liver abscess, cholangitis/cholangiohepatitis, Bartonella spp.
Fungal: histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, others
Protozoal: Toxoplasma gondii, Babesia spp., Cytauxzoon felis
Rickettsial: Ehrlichia spp., Rickettsia rickettsiae
2)ingested toxins such as mushrooms,cycad palm, blue-green algae,chemicals,pesticides, aflatoxin-contaminated pet food,xylitol
3)Systemic or metabolic disorders:
Acute pancreatitis ( Are you feeding high fat diet such as lots of extra coconut oil ?)
Extrahepatic infection, septicemia, endotoxemia
Hemolytic anemia and DIC
Inflammatory bowel disease
Copper storage hepatopathy
4)hornet stings

Pasted from a vet manual:
ACUTE GENERAL TREATMENT ( of Acute Hepatic Failure )
IV fluid therapy with balanced electrolyte solution; supplement with KCI using conventional sliding scale(20-40 mEq/L to start);
maintain normoglycemia by adding 2.5%-5% dextrose to fluids. Avoid alkalosis in hepatic encephalopathy (give 0.9% saline
rather than lactated Ringer's solution).
Treat underlying cause when possible; discontinue any suspect drug; start amoxicillin or penicillin for empirical treatment of
suspected leptospirosis (dogs), or broad-spectrum systemic antibiotics for sepsis.
Give N-acetylcysteine as a glutathione source/antioxidant for treatment of acetaminophen toxicity at 140 mg/kg (10% or 20%
solution diluted at least 1:2 with saline) IV over 20-30 minutes through 0.25-m nonpyrogenic filter; then 70 mg/kg IV or PO q 6
h for 7 treatments. May also be beneficial for treatment of other drug-induced injuries (carprofen, potentiated sulfonamides,
diazepam, methimazole, others), aflatoxin-induced hepatic injury, or organic solvents and heavy metal toxicity.
Other hepatoprotective therapy (empirical therapy):
SAMe, 20 mg/kg PO q 24 h, as a glutathione source (given as follow-up to IV N-acetylcysteine when oral therapy is
tolerated)
Silybin (milk thistle) protective against Amanita mushroom toxicity in an experimental study in dogs at 50 mg/kg IV.
Oral dose for dogs and cats is 20-50 mg/kg q 24 h of 60%-80% silybin but poor absorption. Veterinary product, Marin
(Nuramax Laboratories Inc.), 5-10 mg/kg q 24 h, contains silybin bound to phosphatidylcholine to improve
gastrointestinal absorption.
Vitamin E (15 IU/kg PO q 24 h) as an antioxidant
For nonspecific control of vomiting use antiemetics such as maropitant (1 mg/kg SQ q 24 h or 2 mg/kg PO q 24 h),
metoclopramide (0.2-0.4 mg/kg IV, IM, SQ, PO q 6-8 h or 1-2 mg/kg/24 h IV constant rate infusion), or ondansetron (0.1-0.2
mg/kg SQ or slow IV q 8 h).
Treat or prevent gastric ulceration with famotidine (0.5-1 mg/kg IV or PO q 12-24 h), omeprazole (0.7-1 mg/kg PO q 12-24 h)
or pantoprazole (0.7-1 mg/kg IV q 12-24 h).
For treatment of coagulopathy, give fresh-frozen plasma and parenteral vitamin K1 (0.5-1 mg/kg q 12-24 h SQ for two or three
doses or until PT normalizes).
Treat for hepatic encephalopathy using a high-quality low-protein diet, lactulose (0.1-0.5 mL/kg PO q
12 h, adjusted to achieve soft fecal consistency), and/or intestinal antibiotics such as metronidazole (7.5-10 mg/kg PO q 12 h)
or amoxicillin-clavulanate (15 mg/kg PO q 12 h).

 

[Oskars Keeper]

Our Oskar is 7 months old and same issues.
We’ve had his liver ultrasound, bile test, rules out lepto and other infections, and most recently while he was being castrated he had liver biopsies that were sent to Cornell and everything has come back without cause. He’s been on a liver supplement for months as well.

He doesn’t act sick, look sick, he’s not failing to thrive.

We too fed raw, and our last straw right now is we are switching his diet for 3 months to see. He’s on a whitefish/egg diet.

I’ve contacted our breeder, and she’s been supportive however no other dog in her line has had these issues.
It’s frustrating, I’m just super glad the pet insurance keeps writing their checks!