Study points to ESR as a useful marker in canine ICU care

A prospective study from the University of Pisa suggests erythrocyte sedimentation rate, or ESR, could become a more useful monitoring tool in canine intensive care than many clinicians may expect. In dogs hospitalized in the ICU, ESR measured at admission was associated with mortality risk, and the authors reported it may also help identify sepsis. The study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, followed hospitalized dogs at the university’s veterinary teaching hospital from September 2021 through February 2024, using residual K3-EDTA samples collected during routine care. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams managing critically ill dogs, the finding is notable because ESR is inexpensive, widely familiar, and increasingly adaptable to point-of-care workflows. Prior canine research has shown ESR tracks systemic inflammation and correlates, albeit weakly, with markers such as CRP, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, white blood cell count, and albumin-globulin ratio. More recent work outside the ICU setting has also suggested ESR may outperform some standard inflammatory markers for mortality prediction in dogs with systemic inflammatory disease or SIRS, reinforcing the idea that it may offer practical prognostic value rather than serving only as a nonspecific inflammation test. (sciencedirect.com)

What to watch: The next question is whether larger, multicenter studies can validate ICU-specific ESR cutoffs and clarify how the test should be used alongside CRP, APPLE scores, and sepsis workups in everyday emergency practice. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)