Acute-Phase Response in Monitoring Postoperative Recovery in Bitches After Ovariohysterectomy

An ovariohysterectomy is one of the most common procedures performed on bitches in everyday veterinary practice. As with any other surgery, it leads to a local inflammatory reaction, which is usually accompanied by a systemic reaction called the acute-phase response (APR). The aim of the study was to assess the changes of serum CRP concentration, WBC and rectal temperature during the postoperative period in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy and to establish the usefulness of such determinations after surgical trauma. The results showed increased levels of all the measured parameters 24 hours after surgery. During the course of a normal postoperative period, WBC count and rectal temperature return to values that are considered physiological norms for dogs. The subsequent decline in CRP during the postoperative course indicates the gradual subsidence of the inflammatory reaction to surgical trauma. CRP concentrations higher than the physiological norm noted 10 days after surgery indicate a persistent, although less severe inflammatory process. The serum concentration of CRP is a more sensitive and reliable parameter for an evaluation of the postoperative period in bitches than WBC count and rectal temperature