Background
Rapid identification of sepsis enables prompt administration of antibiotics and is essential to improve patient survival. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker used to diagnose sepsis in people. Commercial assays to measure canine PCT peptide have not been validated.
Objective
To investigate the validity of a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) marketed for the m
Animals
Three dogs with sepsis, 1 healthy dog, 1 dog with thyroid carcinoma.
easurement of canine PCT.
Methods
Experimental study. The ELISA's ability to detect recombinant and native canine PCT was investigated and intra-assay and interassay coefficients of variability were calculated. Assay validation including mass spectrometry of the kit standard solution was performed.
Results
The ELISA did not consistently detect recombinant canine PCT. Thyroid lysate yielded a positive ELISA signal. Intra-assay variability ranged from 18.9 to 77.4%, while interassay variability ranged from 56.1 to 79.5%. Mass spectrometry of the standard solution provided with the evaluated ELISA kit did not indicate presence of PCT.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
The results of this investigation do not support the use of this ELISA for the detection of PCT in dogs.
