Pancreatic enzyme activity in the bile of healthy cats and its association with biliary morphology.
BACKGROUND
In human medicine, congenital maljunction of the common bile duct (CBD) and main pancreatic duct (MPD), or pancreatobiliary maljunction (PBM), is a known cause of cholecystitis.


OBJECTIVE
Pancreatic enzyme activity in the bile (a diagnostic marker for PBM) of healthy cats was measured to determine normal values and evaluate its relationship with biliary morphology.


ANIMALS
Fifty-two healthy cats.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study of the biliary tracts of healthy cats during laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy and measurement of pancreatic enzyme activity in bile. The cats were divided into groups A and B based on the ratio of the diameter of the cystic duct (CD) to the CBD. The normal ratio was 3.4. Pancreatic enzyme activity in bile was compared between the groups.


RESULTS
The CBDs were straight in all cases, whereas the CDs were variably tortuous or dilated. Amylase activity in the bile (median, <100 U/L; range, <100-591 U/L) was lower than in serum in all cases, and group B, which had a CD/CBD ratio >3.4, had significantly higher amylase activity (median, 109 U/L; range, <100-591 U/L) in the bile than did group A (median, <100 U/L; range, <100-238 U/L), which had a CD/CBD ratio <3.4 (P = .0009).


CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
The results suggest that a dilated CD is associated with reflux of pancreatic juice. In the future, it will be necessary to examine the clinical usefulness of these findings by measuring pancreatic enzyme activity in the bile of cats with cholangitis.
['Fujimoto|Shinsuke|S|', 'Torisu|Shidow|S|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3411-6744', 'Kaneko|Yasuyuki|Y|', 'Mizutani|Shinya|S|', 'Yamamoto|Shushi|S|', 'Naganobu|Kiyokazu|K|', 'Nakamura|Kensuke|K|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1010-3228']
D000818:Animals D001646:Bile D001652:Bile Ducts D002415:Cats D003135:Common Bile Duct D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D010179:Pancreas D010183:Pancreatic Ducts
pancreatobiliary maljunction pancreatic enzyme activity in bile cystic duct cholangitis