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Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Synovial Fluid Analysis to Identify Osteoarthritis
Published on: October 20, 2022
Synovial fluid total protein concentration as a possible marker for canine idiopathic polyarthritis
Kohei Murakami1, Tomohiro Yonezawa, Naoaki Matsuki
1Department of Veterinary Clinical Pathobiology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Abstract:
Idiopathic polyarthritis (IPA) is a very common inflammatory arthropathy in the dog. Canine IPA is diagnosed mainly by detecting increased number of leukocytes in the synovial fluid (SF), which is easily influenced by glucocorticoid therapy. We obtained 31 SF samples from 24 IPA dogs prior to (n=19) and/or after (n=12) 1 to 10 weeks of glucocorticoid therapy. The SF total protein concentrations of IPA dogs were significantly higher than those of dogs with non-arthritis diseases (n=34) and healthy controls (n=10). Our data revealed that the SF total protein concentrations are not influenced by several weeks of glucocorticoid therapy. Hence, the SF total protein concentration is applicable as a diagnostic marker of canine IPA even when the patients are receiving glucocorticoid therapy.

