Table 1.
Patient data in cats with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE; n = 34), small-cell alimentary lymphoma (SCL; n = 17), disease controls (n = 16), and healthy controls (n = 32).
| Patient Characteristic | CIE | SCL | Disease Controls | Healthy Controls | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years, median (IQR) | 9.0 (4.8–11.3) A | 13.0 (11.0–14.0) B | 9.0 (2.0–13.0) A,C | 5.5 (2.0–10.0) C | 0.0004 |
| Sex, male (neutered)/female (spayed) | 24 (22)/10 (10) | 10 (8)/7 (7) | 9 (9)/7 (5) | 19 (18)/13 (12) | 0.6887 |
| Body weight in kg, median (IQR) | 4.4 (3.6–5.7) * | 5.5 (3.8–6.0) | 4.0 (3.3–4.9) † | 4.5 (4.2–5.5) ‡ | 0.2099 |
| BCS, median (IQR) | 5.0 (3.5–5.5) $ | 6.0 (4.0–7.0) § | 5.5 (3.5–7.5) ¶ | 5.5 (4.5–5.5) $ | 0.4784 |
| Breed, n (%) - Domestic (European) Shorthair - other breeds |
24 (71%) 10 (29%) |
14 (82%) 3 (18%) |
9 (56%) 7 (44%) |
26 (81%) 6 (19%) |
0.2455 |
| Negative retrovirus (FeLV/FIV) status | 8 (100%) ** | 2 (100%) †† | 5 (100%) ‡‡ | – | – |
| Clinical signs present in months, median (IQR) | 8.0 (1.0–24.0) § | 0.6 (0.2–1.0) †† | 1.0 (1.0–12.0) $$ | – | 0.1413 |
| Minimum survival time in months, median (IQR) | 3.0 (3.0–12.0) §§,A,B | 3.0 (3.0–3.0) ¶¶,A | 9.0 (3.5–18.0) †,B | – | 0.0362 |
| Number of sites biopsied, median (IQR) | 4 (4) # | 2 (2) ¶¶ | 3 (2–4) †† | – | |
| Clinical parameters | |||||
| FCEAI score, median (IQR) - severity of reduced activity - severity of vomiting - severity of diarrhea - severity of weight loss - severity of hyporexia |
6 (3–9) A 1 (0–2) A 1 (0–2) A 1 (0–2) A 1 (0–1.5) A 1 (0–2) A |
10 (7–11.5) B 1 (0–2) A 2 (1–3) B 2 (1–3) B 1 (0.5–2) A 1 (0.5–2.5) A |
5.5 (2.5–7) A 1 (0–2) §,A 1 (0–2) §,A 1.5 (0–2) A 0 (0–2) §,A 0 (0–2) §,A |
0 (0) C 0 (0) B 0 (0) C 0 (0) C 0 (0) B 0 (0) B |
<0.0001
<0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 |
| Presence of endoscopic lesions, n (%) - stomach ! - duodenum/jejunum ! - ileum ** - colon ** |
27 (100%) #
|
17 (100%)
|
2 (100%) ††
|
– | – 0.9742 0.6187 0.1372 0.3219 |
| Presence of dermatological signs, n (%) $$ | 3/8 (38%) | 0/2 (0%) | 3/4 (75%) | – | 0.2112 |
| Stress association of clinical signs, n (%) ¶¶ | 6/8 (75%) A,B | 0/2 (0%) A | 7/7 (100%) B | – | 0.0084 |
| Clinicopathologic parameters | |||||
| Serum cobalamin in ng/L, median (IQR) | 914 (430–1001) A,& | 318 (178–637) B | 355 (197–963) A,B,** | – | 0.0054 |
| Hypocobalaminemia, n (%) | 4/30 (13%) & | 7/17 (42%) | 2/8 (25%) ** | – | 0.0717 |
| Serum folate in µg/L, median (IQR) | 18.1 (13.0–22.8) # | 16.3 (8.4–30.8) ^ | 14.1 (11.9–29.3) ** | – | 0.7887 |
| Hypofolatemia, n (%) | 3/28 (11%) | 3/16 (19%) | 0/8 (0%) | – | 0.2615 |
| Hyperfolatemia, n (%) | 5/28 (18%) | 5/16 (31%) | 2/8 (25%) | – | 0.5967 |
| Serum total protein in g/L, median (IQR) | 73 (66–79) ß | 72 (62–74) § | 75 (70–81) § | – | 0.2925 |
| Hypoproteinemia, n (%) | 2/32 (6%) | 3/15 (20%) | 0/12 (0%) | – | 0.0950 |
| Hyperproteinemia, n (%) | 3/32 (9%) | 1/15 (7%) | 4/12 (33%) | – | 0.1167 |
| Serum albumin in g/L, median (IQR) | 36 (33–40) A,& | 36 (30.5–40) A,^ | 31 (26.5–34.5) B,$$ | – | 0.0222 |
| Hypoalbuminemia, n (%) | 4/30 (13%) | 2/16 (13%) | 2/14 (14%) | – | 0.9898 |
| Serum globulin in g/L, median (IQR) | 33.5 (31–43.5) A,& | 32 (30–36) A,§ | 42 (36.5–51) B,% | – | 0.0181 |
| Hyperglobulinemia, n (%) | 10/30 (33%) A,B | 3/15 (20%) A | 8/12 (67%) B | – | 0.0379 |
| Serum total calcium in mmol/L, median (IQR) | 2.50 (2.40–2.63) # | 2.54 (2.33–2.69) ^ | 2.50 (2.40–2.60) ## | – | 0.8709 |
| Total hypocalcemia, n (%) | 0/27 (0%) | 2/16 (13%) | 1/7 (14%) | – | 0.0864 |
| Serum BUN in mmol/L, median (IQR) | 18 (8–22.5) A,!! | 23 (19.5–30) B,^ | 9 (7.5–12.5) C,&& | – | 0.0001 |
| Serum BUN increase, n (%) | 18/29 (62%) A | 15/16 (94%) B | 4/13 (31%) A | – | 0.0010 |
| Serum phosphorus in mmol/L, median (IQR) | 0.47 (0.34–0.56) # | 0.52 (0.44–0.54) ^ | 0.61 (0.45–0.65) ## | – | 0.1108 |
| Hypophosphatemia, n (%) | 2/28 (7%) | 0/16 (0%) | 0/7 (0%) | – | 0.2915 |
| Serum ALT activity in U/L, median (IQR) | 59 (37–88) & | 68 (52–121) ^ | 65 (47–156) ^^ | – | 0.3389 |
| Increased serum ALT activity, n (%) | 8/31 (26%) | 7/16 (44%) | 2/9 (22%) | – | 0.3898 |
| Serum ALP activity in U/L, median (IQR) | 32 (25–48) §§ | 32 (26–51) ^ | 56 (29–70) && | – | 0.4767 |
| Increased serum ALP activity, n (%) | 5/32 (16%) | 2/16 (13%) | 5/14 (36%) | – | 0.2368 |
| Serum tT4 in nmol/L, median (IQR) | 24.5 (20.8–34.3) A,ßß | 34.5 (29.5–37.6) B,&& | 43.2 (21.9–50.2) A,B,## | – | 0.0145 |
| Serum Spec fPL in μg/L, median (IQR) | 2.0 (1.4–4.2) & | 2.7 (2.5–3.3) ¶¶ | 1.7 (1.4–4.2) ** | 0.0752 | |
| Increased serum Spec fPL, n (%) | 8/31 (26%) | 4/17 (24%) | 2/8 (25%) | – | 0.2368 |
| Serum fTLI in μg/L, median (IQR) | 21.4 (15.7–35.3) A,%% | 60.5 (36.3–69.8) B,$$ | 45.7 (31.6–102.4) A,B,### | – | 0.0024 |
| Serum fructosamine in μmol/L, median (IQR) | 225 (203–277) ^^ | – | 254 (232–286) ¶ | – | 0.5161 |
| Sonographic abnormalities | |||||
| Increased gastrointestinal wall thickness, n (%) !!! | 12/13 (92%) A | 2/2 (100%) A | 4/11 (36%) B | – | 0.0049 |
| Thickened tunica muscularis layer, n (%) !!! | 7/13 (54%) | 1/2 (50%) | 4/11 (36%) | – | 0.6867 |
| Loss of gastrointestinal wall layering, n (%) !!! | 3/13 (23%) | 1/2 (50%) | 0/11 (0%) | – | 0.0637 |
| Enlarged regional lymph nodes, n (%) !!! | 11/13 (85%) | 1/2 (50%) | 5/11 (46%) | – | 0.1081 |
| Evidence of free abdominal fluid, n (%) !!! | 5/13 (39%) | 0/2 (0%) | 3/11 (27%) | – | 0.3902 |
| Fecal biomarker of inflammation | |||||
| Fecal calprotectin in μg/g, median (IQR) | 42 (17–232) A | 50 (21–181) A | 145 (5–351) A | 3 (3) B | <0.0001 |
BCS: body condition score (scale from 1–9); FCEAI: feline chronic enteropathy activity index; IQR: interquartile range. Parameters in bold font and differential superscript capital letters indicate significant differences at p < 0.05. * recorded for n = 33 cats; † recorded for n = 13 cats; ‡ recorded for n = 25 cats; $ recorded for n = 26 cats; § recorded for n = 15 cats; ¶ recorded for n = 6 cats; ** recorded for n = 8 cats; †† recorded for n = 2 cats; ‡‡ recorded for n = 5 cats; $$ recorded for n = 14 cats; §§ recorded for n = 31 cats; ¶¶ recorded for n = 17 cats; # recorded for n = 27 cats; ! recorded for n = 11 cats; & recorded for n = 30 cats; ^ recorded for n = 16 cats; ß recorded for n = 28 cats; % recorded for n = 12 cats; ## recorded for n = 7 cats; !! available from n = 29 cats; && available from n = 13 cats; ^^ available from n = 9 cats; ßß available from n = 22 cats; %% available from n = 21 cats; ### available from n = 3 cats; !!! available from n = 26 cats.