-  Ship chilled.

Interpretations

Bile acid results in most healthy horses are < 11 umol/L. Patients with values higher than this could have hepatobiliary dysfunction or portosystemic shunting, but results are not specific for the type of underlying disease. In horses, slightly increased concentrations (up to 20 umol/L) can result from decreased feed intake lasting several days or longer. Note that bile acid concentrations cannot be accurately interpreted in a patient that has an increased direct (conjugated) bilirubin, since bile acids do not give any indication of hepatic function or portosystemic shunting in the presence of cholestasis.