Wellness Testing
Helping pets live long healthy lives by catching problems early and managing inflammation.
Wellness
VDI offers a range of wellness profiles for the early detection of disease and evaluation of essential vitamin levels which are required for proper biological function. VDI Wellness Panels should be part of annual or semi-annual wellness programs for adult and senior animals.
Canine Wellness Panels
- Essential Wellness
- Complete Wellness
- CRP (individual test)
Also available:
- Cancer Risk Assessment
- Osteoarthritis Assessment
Feline Wellness Panels
- Essential Wellness
- Complete Wellness
- Haptoglobin (individual test)
Also available:
- Cancer Risk Assessment
- Osteoarthritis Assessment
Available Wellness Tests
- C-Reactive Protein (CRP)
- Haptoglobin (HPT)
- Vitamin D
- B12/Folate
- Magnesium
- Cancer Risk Assessment (CRA)
- Hyaluronic Acid (HA)
- Chem12
Sample Reports
Other Wellness Panels
VDI offers a range of tests that can be combined to form various wellness panels. Here are some examples.
Choosing when and what to test
VDI wellness panels are appropriate for almost all routine wellness visits by your patients. Testing recommendations can be based on age. The table below is a guideline for initial testing.
| Animal Age | Essential Vitamins | Inflammation/Wellness | Specialty (Cancer/OA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| < 1 year old | Not recommended | Not recommended | Not recommended |
| Adult (1-3) | Annual | Annual | Not recommended |
| Adult (3-6) | Annual | Annual | If at High Risk, Annually |
| Senior | Annual | Bi-Annual | Bi-Annually |
| Geriatric | Annual | Bi-Annual | Bi-Annually |
Typically wellness panels are recommended for only apparently healthy dogs and cats, there are some situations that VDI Wellness Panels may be appropriate, especially essential vitamins. Below is a list of recommendations based on animal status.
| Animal Status | Essential Vitamins | Inflammation | Specialty (Cancer/OA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Diet | Recommended | Not recommended | Not recommended |
| Chronic Disease | Recommended | Possibly (management) | Not recommended |
| Acute Disease | Recommended | Not recommended | Not recommended |
| Steroid Use | Recommended | Possibly (management) | Not recommended |
| Weight Loss Program | Recommended | Recommended | Not recommended |
| Concerned Pet Parents* | Recommended | Recommended | Recommended |
Dry Serum Test Kit
VDI wellness panels can be submitted using the Dry Serum Test Kit helping reduce the logistics cost of routine wellness testing. [LEARN MORE]
Inflammation is the root of disease
Chronic Inflammation
Chronic inflammation is involved in both the initiation and propagation of many disease processes. While transient inflammation is protective, long lasting inflammatory response is destruction. It’s this inflammation that should be identified and resolved to ensure healthy animals.
The BEST inflammation markers: Acute Phase Proteins
Acute Phase Proteins (APP) are the best indicators of inflammation in the body. The major APPs (CRP in dogs, HPT in cats) are made when an inflammatory stimulus is present, and disappear when it’s resolved. Quick to appear and disappear, CRP & HPT should be normal in the healthy animal. When they aren’t, an underlying situation is present.
Healthy Animals DON’T have chronic inflammation
Is my dog/cat healthy?
While CRP/HPT is non-specific, it is very sensitive to systemic inflammation. Its non-specificity is actually a benefit for a general wellness screen as one test can identify inflammation due to a wide variety of diseases/causes. Low levels then become a rule out for serious disorders and moderate to high levels become a call-to-action for further diagnostic workups.
Limitation of routine chemistries
Routine chemistries (database) are one of the first steps during diagnostic workup. On the other hand, chemistries being performed on apparently healthy animals is uncommon. The reason is they can’t detect emerging disease. Biochemical abnormalities present AFTER the onset of disease, and since the body works extremely hard to keep most pathways working properly, the routine chemistries values are often the last ones to change. This makes them excellent indicators for advanced disease, but poor indicators for early disease development prior to the onset of clinical signs.
Wellness with VDI
So there’s inflammation, now what?
Intelligent Diagnostics
One of the biggest challenges with abnormal results in healthy pets, is answer “what’s the cause?” VDI lab reports are designed to give you detailed, instructive, and actionable information when the source of that inflammation isn’t immediately obvious. VDI intelligent reports give you further insight to help direct your next steps in the apparently healthy animal. VDI uses hundreds of peer-reviewed clinical research articles and the aid of computer algorithms to help decode these diseases.