Correlation between serum cobalamin concentration, histopathologic changes, and outcome in cats with chronic enteropathy.

Hypocobalaminemia correlates with histologic severity but doesn't reliably predict ileal lesions or outcome.

This retrospective study examined 73 cats with chronic enteropathy to establish correlations between serum cobalamin concentration, histopathologic findings, and clinical outcomes. Tissue samples from the duodenum and ileum were scored using a modified WSAVA scoring system, while outcomes were assessed using a modified FCEAI. Results demonstrated a moderate negative correlation between serum cobalamin concentrations and total ileal WSAVA scores and cellular infiltrate scores in both duodenum and ileum. Notably, serum folate concentrations showed no significant correlations with histologic lesions. Among 51 hypocobalaminemic cats, 50 had histologic lesions, but 5 had lesions confined to the duodenum without ileal involvement. Importantly, serum cobalamin concentration was not associated with clinical outcome as measured by FCEAI. The findings suggest that while hypocobalaminemia correlates with histopathologic severity, it may not reliably predict ileal involvement or clinical prognosis in feline chronic enteropathy.

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