Determination of Serum Amylase and Lipase Activities in Dogs with Pancreatitis at a Veterinary Clinic in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory

Pancreatitis is an increasingly diagnosed condition in companion dogs in Nigerian urban centres, yet enzymatic diagnostic data from local clinical populations are lacking. This study determined serum amylase and lipase activities in dogs clinically and ultrasonographically diagnosed with acute pancreatitis at a private veterinary clinic in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory. Forty dogs comprising twenty with confirmed pancreatitis and twenty healthy controls were enrolled. Fasting blood samples were collected and serum amylase and lipase activities quantified using colorimetric substrate methods. Lipase activities were significantly elevated in pancreatitis cases with mean values 4.8 times the upper reference limit, while amylase was elevated in fourteen of twenty cases at 2.3 times the upper reference limit. Concurrent total protein reduction and mild elevations in alanine aminotransferase were observed, consistent with systemic inflammatory response. Dietary history analysis indicated high-fat meal ingestion as the most commonly reported precipitating event, occurring in thirteen of twenty cases. Ultrasonographic findings corroborated the biochemical diagnosis in all cases, confirming pancreatic oedema or peripancreatic inflammation. These findings establish local enzymatic reference benchmarks for pancreatitis diagnosis in dogs managed in the Federal Capital Territory and underscore the importance of lipase as the superior diagnostic enzyme over amylase in this species. Keywords: pancreatitis, amylase, lipase, dogs, Abuja.