Jacobson Linda S, Lobetti Remo G, Becker Pieter, Reyers Fred, Vaughan-Scott Tarquin
Faculty of Veterinary Science, Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
Vet Parasitol. 2002 Feb 27;104(1):27-41. doi: 10.1016/s0304-4017(01)00606-9.
Babesiosis, caused by the virulent haemoprotozoan parasite Babesia canis rossi, is an important disease of dogs in South Africa. The nitric oxide metabolites, nitrate and nitrite (collectively termed reactive nitrogen intermediates or RNIs) were measured in admission sera from dogs in a babesiosis-endemic area. Five groups were prospectively studied: mild uncomplicated (n=9), severe uncomplicated (severe anaemia) (n=10) and complicated babesiosis (n=11); and two groups of healthy aparasitaemic dogs: endemic controls from the study area (n=10) and experimental dogs kept in tick-free conditions (n=10). Four measures of RNI production were studied: (i) serum RNI; (ii) serum RNI/creatinine ratio; (iii) fractional clearance of RNI (FC(RNI)); (iv) fractional excretion of RNI (FE(RNI)). Marked elevations of serum RNI occurred in only two dogs, both in the severe uncomplicated group. The highest concentration (log value 5.29 micromol/l) was in a dog that died, but concentrations in the other four dogs that died were unremarkable (0, 0.34, 1.66 and 2.64 micromol/l). Age, appetite and free serum haemoglobin were significant covariates for measures of RNI production. There were no significant differences among the babesiosis groups for serum RNI. Adjustment for creatinine had minor effects on the results. All babesiosis groups had significantly higher serum RNI and RNI/creatinine than the tick-free control group, but did not differ from the endemic controls except for the severe uncomplicated group, which had higher RNI/creatinine. The complicated group had significantly lower FC(RNI) and FE(RNI) than all other groups, except for the tick-free control group, which had similar FE(RNI). The results indicate that, in an endemic area, measures of RNI production are unlikely to be useful indicators of severity or outcome in canine babesiosis.
巴贝斯虫病由毒性血原虫寄生虫犬巴贝斯虫罗斯亚种引起，是南非犬类的一种重要疾病。在巴贝斯虫病流行地区，对犬入院血清中的一氧化氮代谢产物硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐（统称为活性氮中间体或RNI）进行了检测。前瞻性研究了五组：轻度非复杂性（n = 9）、重度非复杂性（重度贫血）（n = 10）和复杂性巴贝斯虫病（n = 11）；以及两组健康无寄生虫血症的犬：研究地区的地方病对照组（n = 10）和饲养在无蜱条件下的实验犬（n = 10）。研究了RNI产生的四项指标：（i）血清RNI；（ii）血清RNI/肌酐比值；（iii）RNI的分数清除率（FC(RNI)）；（iv）RNI的分数排泄率（FE(RNI)）。仅在重度非复杂性组的两只犬中血清RNI显著升高。最高浓度（对数值5.29微摩尔/升）出现在一只死亡的犬中，但其他四只死亡犬的浓度无异常（0、0.34、1.66和2.64微摩尔/升）。年龄、食欲和游离血清血红蛋白是RNI产生指标的显著协变量。巴贝斯虫病组之间的血清RNI无显著差异。肌酐校正对结果影响较小。所有巴贝斯虫病组的血清RNI和RNI/肌酐均显著高于无蜱对照组，但除重度非复杂性组RNI/肌酐较高外，与地方病对照组无差异。复杂性组的FC(RNI)和FE(RNI)显著低于所有其他组，但与FE(RNI)相似的无蜱对照组除外。结果表明，在流行地区，RNI产生指标不太可能成为犬巴贝斯虫病严重程度或预后的有用指标。
