Breakpoints to Assess Mineral, Nutritional Metabolite and Enzyme Status in Blood Samples From Cattle and Sheep at the Blood Laboratory in Grange Research Centre, CO Meath

Introduction
The following breakpoints are used at Grange to assess the status of blood-test levels, milk-iodine and liver copper levels in samples from cattle (B) and sheep (O).

The assessment categories used for most tests are:

VL = Very Low
LO = Low
ML = Marginal
NL = Normal (physiologically desirable range)
HI = High
VH = Very High

For example, the normal range for albumin (Alb) individual cattle is taken as 28-37 g/L, but is taken as 29.40-35.15 g/L for a group of cattle.

Some tests, such as the liver enzymes and bHB, have no VL, LO or ML categories, and the "normal range" is taken as from 0 to the value shown under the NL column.

Warning to Veterinarians
Note that grossly abnormal values (VL or VH) for any of these tests arise in apparently healthy, thriving animals. Non-clinical deficiency or excess is very common in Ireland.

Veterinarians are advised NOT to diagnose animal-health problems from the lab results alone. A specific condition may be suspected if the clinical examination and / or history suggest it, and the lab tests agree with that possibility.

Definitive diagnosis, however, should be based on a clear response to specific action to correct the suspected abnormality.

Find the Breakpoints Used in the Grange Lab
To view this information, please download the spreadsheet file located here.

B12 is not a good test in cattle / sheep. There is an artefact in the (human) test-kit which gives unreliable values that usually are too low.

GPx breakpoints were lowered on 2/1/1996

PII breakpoints may be lowered on Grange test soon. Work by Drs. John Mee & Maurice McCoy suggests that new lower limit of the normal range for individual samples should be +/- 70 ug/L, but more data are needed to define really critical normal levels

Phil Rogers MRCVS, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland​
Fax: 353-46-26154 Tel: 353-46-26740 (Lab)
[email protected]  |  [email protected]
THE NYCAVMA IS HONORED TO HOST & MANAGE THE PHIL ROGERS ARCHIVE