CPK (Creatine Phospho Kinase)
A CPK (creatine phospho kinase) test measures an enzyme that leaks into the blood when muscle is damaged. It is done on serum from dogs, cats, cows and buffaloes.
- Sample
- Serum (plain)
- Quantity
- 2 mL
- Report
- Same day to 24 hours
- Collection
- Free in Bhopal
What this test checks
- CPK (creatine kinase) activity in serum
- Damage to muscle cells, which lets CPK leak into the blood
- Muscle strain after injury, fits, hard exercise or long periods of lying down
Benefits of this test
- Shows whether muscle damage may be behind weakness, stiffness or an animal that cannot stand.
- May help your vet tell muscle problems from other causes of weakness.
- Helps your vet see how much muscle damage a cow or buffalo has suffered after lying down for long.
- Can be repeated to see whether muscle damage is settling or continuing.
- Uses a small serum sample that is often taken with other blood tests.
Often discussed at these ages:Adult HorseSenior Horse
When your vet may advise it
- After a road accident, a fall or a crush injury that may have damaged muscle.
- A dog or cat with muscle pain, a stiff walk or weak back legs.
- After a seizure, or in a dog that collapsed during hard exercise or heat.
- A cow or buffalo that cannot stand or has been lying down for a long time.
- A calf that is weak or stiff, when the vet suspects a muscle disease such as white muscle disease.
- A high AST on another blood test, when the vet wants to know whether it comes from muscle or liver.
About this test
Creatine phospho kinase, or CPK, is an enzyme found mainly in the muscles, and also in the heart and brain. An enzyme is a protein that speeds up work in the body. When muscle is injured, CPK leaks out of the cells and the level in the blood goes up. This makes CPK a sensitive sign of muscle damage.
The lab measures CPK activity in serum with special chemicals and an instrument. CPK comes from muscle in general, so the test cannot say which muscle is hurt. The level rises within hours of an injury. It usually falls again within a few days if the damage stops.
Vets use CPK to look for muscle injury after accidents, fits or long periods of lying down. It also helps them check animals that are weak or stiff, and follow muscle disease over time.
How to prepare
Keep your animal calm, avoid hard exercise before sampling, and tell your vet about any recent fall, fit or muscle injection, as these can raise CPK. Fasting is usually not needed, but follow your vet's advice. Free sample collection is available anywhere in Bhopal, and outside Bhopal the serum can travel to us through your vet, by courier or by bus parcel.
Reading the result
A registered veterinarian reads CPK together with your animal's signs and history, any recent injury or exercise, and other tests such as AST. A raised value points to muscle damage but not to its cause, so your vet may repeat the test or add other tests.
Questions about CPK
What does a high CPK mean in a dog or cat?
Can an injection or hard exercise raise CPK?
Is CPK a heart test?
Is the CPK test useful for a cow or buffalo that cannot stand?
Before you book this test
Why this notice: so you know, before you book, how a test is done, what its limits are and who is responsible.
- Where it is tested. Some tests are done wholly or partly by an independent partner laboratory. The lab tells you before booking if this test is sent out, and the report names the laboratory that did it.
- What a result can and cannot tell you. No test is right every time. A normal result does not rule out every disease, and an abnormal result does not prove one. A registered veterinarian should read the report with the animal’s signs and history before any treatment is started, changed or stopped.
- The sample. A sample that is clotted, too small, wrongly labelled, leaking or too old may be rejected or reported with a note, and the lab may ask for a fresh one.
- Reporting time. Same day to 24 hours. Times are estimates, not guarantees, and the lab confirms the time when you book.
- Emergencies. A booking or a pending report must not delay urgent care. If an animal has collapsed, struggles to breathe, has fits or bleeds heavily, call a veterinarian at once.
Please read our Terms of Service, Medical Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and Refund and Cancellation Policy. Pashupatinath Vet Lab is operated by Duaji Healthcare and Tech Private Limited. This page is general information and does not replace a veterinarian’s advice.
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CPK: Bhopal and the big cities of Madhya Pradesh
Free sample collection anywhere in Bhopal. From the other cities, send the sample by courier, bus parcel or through your local veterinarian, and the report comes to you online.
Free collection in these Bhopal areas
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