Serologic and fecal markers to predict response to induction therapy in dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease

Background Little information is available of markers that assess the disease course in dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Objectives Evaluate relationship between disease severity and serum and fecal biomarkers in dogs with idiopathic IBD before and after treatment. Animals Sixteen dogs with idioptahic IBD and 13 healthy dogs. Methods Prospective case control study. Canine IBD activity index (CIBDAI) clinical score, serum concentrations of C‐reactive protein (CRP), perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA), and serum and fecal canine calprotectin (cCP) were measured before and after 21 days of treatment. Results Serum CRP (median 3.5 mg/L; range: 0.1‐52.4 mg/L), fecal cCP (median 92.3 μg/g; range: 0.03‐637.5 μg/g), and CIBDAI scores significantly increased in dogs with IBD before treatment compared with serum CRP (median 0.2 mg/L; range: 0.1‐11.8 mg/L; P