# Hypophosphatemia in Intensive Care Unit Canine Patients: Occurrence and Association With Mortality and Duration of Hospitalization

## TL;DR

This study found that low phosphate levels in dogs in ICU are rare and not linked to higher death rates or longer hospital stays.

## Contribution

The study is the first to investigate hypophosphatemia's occurrence and outcomes in ICU canine patients.

## Key findings

- Hypophosphatemia occurred in 0.99% of ICU canine patients.
- No significant association was found between hypophosphatemia and mortality or duration of hospitalization.
- Serum phosphate levels were not correlated with hospitalization duration.

## Abstract

Hypophosphatemia is commonly observed in unselected human intensive care unit (ICU) patients, and it has been associated, although inconsistently, with worse outcomes and longer duration of hospitalization (DOH). The incidence of hypophosphatemia and its association with mortality and DOH in ICU canine patients is unknown.

The aims of this study were to determine the occurrence of hypophosphatemia in unselected ICU canine patients and its association with mortality and DOH.

The medical records of all dogs admitted to the Teaching Hospital ICU between January 2019 and December 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Dogs with hypophosphatemia (serum phosphate < 0.9 mmol/L) were identified. For every hypophosphataemic dog included in this study, two age‐matched control, non‐hypophosphataemic dogs, closely admitted to the ICU in time, were included.

In total, 3233 medical records were reviewed. Hypophosphatemia was noted in ≥ 1 day of hospitalization in 32 dogs (0.99%). The age‐matched case and control groups had a median (range) age of 8.0 (1.0–14.0) years. The survival to discharge rates of both hypophosphataemic and control groups were 78% (25/32 and 50/64, respectively), and their DOH (median, 3.5 days; range 1.0–9.0 and median 3.0 days; range 1.0–25.0, respectively) were not significantly different (p = 0.557). Serum phosphate concentration was not correlated with the DOH (p = 0.649).

Hypophosphatemia was noted in only 1% in this canine ICU patient population and was not associated with the survival to discharge and DOH.