Question on Blood results of a rabbit

Question
QUESTION: Hi, my 2 1/2 years old rabbit had candida albicans and the vet prescribed him to take Grisoral... After 14 days of treatment, the vet took blood samples to see how the liver reacts to the medicine. The result was GOT: 40.1 U/l and GPT: 88.9 U/l. But now, 3 weeks after he stopped taking the medicine, we decided to take him again blood samples and the results now are even worse - GOT: 119 U/l and GPT:151 U/l.

How bad are these results according to your oppinion? How can this reflect my rabbits health?

Thanks in advance.

Greetings, Mira

ANSWER: Dear Mira,

Both of these values (GPT/Alanine aminotransferase and GOT/aspartate aminotransferase) are elevated, suggesting cellular/mitochondrial damage to the liver.  My source, the Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit, lists normal range for GPT as 33-67U/liter; for GOT it is 16-72U/liter).  In general, the higher the values, the greater the damage.  The ratio of these two values also can be used as a measure of degree of insult to the liver.

But the good news is that the liver is very good at repairing itself.  If the griseofulvin is stopped, the liver should stop reacting to it once it's out of the system.  But the big "IF" is...was the griseofulvin the reason for the insult to the liver?

You don't say where the bunny showed signs of Candida, or what his troubles were.  Griseofulvin is pretty high-level medication for a yeast infection, but it also depends on where the yeast are and what kind of problem they are causing.  If you can provide more information, I can better help.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for you reply :)
Yes I forgot to tell that the candida were found in the mouth. He was sneezing a lot and the vet took a microbiological test to see why, and the result was Enterobacter and Candida. We treated the Enterobacter with Baytril and the Candida with Grisoral. Luckily he stopped sneezing.
Now the vet presribed the probiotic Rodikolan for the enhaced liver values being the less harmful medicine that could help this problem. What do you think about it?

Thanks again in advance.

Best Regards, Mira

Answer
Dear Mira,

I've never heard of a rabbit with pathogenic levels of Candida in the mouth.  Enterobacter is a quite normal bacterium in the rabbit mouth.  So why was the bunny treated for Enterobacter?  Was he showing signs of problems in his mouth?  Is this vet very experienced with rabbit medicine?

I seriously would consider finding another rabbit-experienced vet for a second opinion here.  You can find one with the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Unless the bunny has a dental abscess, I'm not sure why the vet would treat for Enterobacter just in the saliva!

For some of the reasons for sneezing and runny nose, please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html

Hope this helps.

Dana