Combined hyponatremia and hyperkalemia mimicking acute hypoadrenocorticismin three pregnant dogs

Hyponatremia and hyperkalemia are typically associated with adrenocortical insufficiency in dogs. Other conditions that are known to cause these serum electrolyte changes include gastrointestinal tract disease, chylothorax, a nd renal disease. The ACTH stimulation test is the gold standard for establ ishing a diagnosis of adrenocortical insufficiency. Three near-term pregnan t Greyhounds were evaluated for clinical features resembling adrenocortical insufficiency and were found to have normal adrenocortical response with a ACTH stimulation test. All 3 dogs were treated for presumed hypoadrenal cr isis and survived. The exact pathophysiologic mechanisms responsible for th e abnormalities in these 3 dogs were not determined.