Portosystemic shunt (liver shunt)

How it is done

Blood test

Also called

levershunt · Lebershunt

What it looks for

Whether a Cairn Terrier puppy has a liver shunt (portosystemic shunt), judged from the ammonia concentration in a fasting blood sample ("bloedonderzoek op ammoniak").

Why it matters

The document does not state this.

How it is done

A blood sample is taken from the puppy and tested for ammonia. The puppy must be fasted — no food after 22:00 on the day before the test, water is required — and must already be chipped, with the chip number linked to the puppy's name and sent to the clinic reception by the Thursday before the test. At the Universiteitskliniek voor Gezelschapsdieren in Utrecht puppies are tested from 7 weeks of age, never younger, on Wednesday mornings from 10:00; the litter is registered with the NCTC within 3 weeks of birth and the appointment is made through the club. A reading above 40 µmol/l is no longer approved on the ammonia value alone: an ammonia tolerance test and/or an ultrasound must follow, and which of the two is used is for the university's vets to judge. The examination costs roughly €40 per puppy at Utrecht.

What the results mean

• Levershunt niet aangetoond — No liver shunt shown. The fasting blood ammonia is 40 µmol/l or lower and no further testing follows.
• Levershunt vrij — Free of liver shunt. Blood ammonia was between 41 and 100 µmol/l, and the ammonia tolerance test that followed gave a normal value.
• Levershunt niet gezien (beoordeling internist) — No shunt seen. Reached when the ammonia tolerance test gave a high value ("levershunt verdacht") and the ultrasound that followed did not show a shunt; the finding is assessed by an internist.
• Levershunt aangetoond (diagram wording: "Levershunt vastgesteld") — A liver shunt was established, on ultrasound, either from a blood ammonia of 100 µmol/l or higher or from a shunt suspected after the ammonia tolerance test. Section 5 gives "Levershunt aangetoond" as the wording printed on the certificate; the results diagram in the same document calls this outcome "Levershunt vastgesteld".

Where the result is recorded

• Raad van Beheer — the breeder receives a certificate per puppy at the clinic and adds a scan or photo of it to the puppy's dossier in MijnRaadvanBeheer, which is what makes it an official result recognised by the Raad van Beheer. The document names the portal but gives no web address for it, so the link points back to the document itself.
• Nederlandse Cairn Terrier Club — on the day of the test the UKG fills in the result, gives it to the breeder and sends the results to the NCTC (procedure diagram "Procedure PSS controle UKG").

Source: Levershunt controle nesten Cairn Terriers — Controle door de Kliniek voor Gezelschapsdieren te Utrecht ("Toelichting Shuntcontrole UKG"), Section 2 (age and chip numbers), section 5 (certificate wording and recording), section 6 (40 µmol/l threshold, tolerance test / ultrasound), section 7 (fasting), and the two diagrams "Bloedonderzoek op ammoniak" and "Procedure PSS controle UKG" (24-02-2025) — https://www.nctc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Toelichting-Shuntcontrole-UKG-24-02-2025.pdf · Explanations checked: 2026-08-11

All health tests

Explanations checked: 11 August 2026