Predictive Value of Acute Phase Proteins for the Short-Term Outcome of Meningoencephalitis of Unknown Origin in Dogs

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin is a heterogeneous group of inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system, accounting for the vast majority of the immune-mediated condition of the central nervous system. The prognoses of these diseases are variable, and it is crucial to discover reliable and easy-to-detect biomarkers for predicting the outcome. This will help clinicians and pet owners make informed decisions about their pets’ care. This retrospective study aims to evaluate the potential role of various routinely assessed serum inflammatory parameters as biomarkers predicting the short-term outcome in patients newly diagnosed with meningoencephalitis of unknown origin. Based on the short-term outcome, the patients were classified into one of two groups: survived and non-survived dogs. None of the parameters evaluated was able to predict the outcome. Additionally, none of these variables showed a consistent increase in the current group of dogs, regardless of the result. In conclusion, based on the results of the present study, meningoencephalitis of unknown origin is not associated with a detectable systemic inflammatory condition, and routinely assessed serum inflammatory parameters are not a useful tool to predict the short-term outcome of this disease. ABSTRACT: Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) is one of the most common inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The study evaluates the possible increase and the potential role of acute phase proteins (APPs) and other inflammatory serum parameters as biomarkers predicting the short-term outcome of dogs with meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO). A retrospective cohort study was designed. The APP profile and other markers of systemic inflammation of forty-eight client-owned dogs with a new diagnosis of MUO were compared between 7-day survival and non-survival dogs diagnosed with MUO. Thirty-nine (81%) dogs were alive at the end of the 7-day follow-up period, while 9 (19%) dogs died or were euthanized because of MUO. None of the 11 markers of inflammation studied were different between the survived and non-survived dogs; for this reason, none of them could be used as a predictor of the short-term outcome based on the results of the present study. This confirms that even though MUO is often associated with a severe inflammatory status of the central nervous system (CNS), this condition is probably isolated exclusively to the CNS.