What test(s) should I request if I suspect my dog has bacterial endocarditis or lyme disease?
The lyme disease is the easy one. There is a simple ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) that is made by a laboratory company called Idexx. This test is called the 4DX (or some clinics carry the 3DX) SNAP Test. These tests will also detect Heartworm disease, and a couple other infectious organisms. Since lyme disease is transmitted by ticks, it is worthwhile testing for the other tick-borne diseases. If your dog comes back positive for Lyme disease, then you can request a C6 Quantitative SNAP test, or to have the sample sent out to a referral lab for a titer. Lyme disease is treatable with a month long course of an antibiotic (Doxycycline). Bacterial endocarditis is a bit trickier. Dogs with bacterial endocarditis (rare disease) tend to be very sick and have high fevers. The gold standard method of diagnosing bacterial endocarditis is a blood culture. Usually, multiple cultures are taken over the course of a day from different veins and incubated at body temperature to observe for
