Primary hyperparathyroidism and concurrent severe hypergastrinemia in a dog

Abstract

AbstractA 7‐year‐old, neutered, male beagle dog was presented for the investigation of hyporexia, vomiting and polyuria‐polydipsia. Ionised hypercalcaemia secondary to primary hyperparathyroidism was diagnosed. The dog developed a perforated gastric ulcer associated with marked hypergastrinemia. The dog died of cardiopulmonary arrest 6 days after admission. Gastrinoma can be associated with Zollinger–Ellison syndrome, characterised by the presence of peptic ulcers and hypergastrinemia. Concurrent primary hyperparathyroidism and gastrinoma is a typical presentation of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome, a human syndrome that causes the development of several tumours in endocrine glands; but has never been described in dogs. Hypergastrinemia secondary to hypercalcaemia, and unrelated to gastrinoma, has also been described in humans, but not in dogs. This case reports the atypical co‐occurrence of primary hyperparathyroidism and severe hypergastrinemia, which could be a consequence of hypercalcaemia, or be secondary to a concurrent disease such as an undetected gastrinoma.