A Clinical Study on Urinary Clusterin and Cystatin B in Dogs with Spontaneous Acute Kidney Injury.

Novel biomarkers are needed in diagnosing reliably acute kidney injury (AKI) in dogs and in predicting morbidity and mortality after AKI. Our hypothesis was that two novel tubular biomarkers, urinary clusterin (uClust) and cystatin B (uCysB), are elevated in dogs with AKI of different etiologies. In a prospective, longitudinal observational study, we collected serum and urine samples from 18 dogs with AKI of different severity and of various etiology and from 10 healthy control dogs.

Retrospective evaluation of 22 dogs with leptospirosis treated with extracorporeal renal replacement therapies (2018-2021).

Background: Outcomes of dogs with acute kidney injury secondary to leptospirosis (AKI-L) treated using renal replacement therapies (RRT) are poorly characterized.

Hypothesis/objectives: Describe survival to discharge, short (≤30 days) and long-term (≥6 months) outcomes of AKI-L dogs receiving RRT and determine if there is a significant difference in maximum blood urea nitrogen (maxBUN), maximum creatinine (maxCr), maximum bilirubin (maxBili) and the number of body systems affected between survivors and non-survivors.

Animals: Twenty-two client-owned dogs with AKI-L receiving RRT.

Irreversible Electroporation Balloon Therapy for Palliative Treatment of Obstructive Urethral Transitional Cell Carcinoma in Dogs.

Progression of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) in dogs often leads to urinary obstruction. This observational pilot study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of irreversible electroporation (IRE) balloon therapy for the palliative treatment of TCC with partial urethral obstruction. Three client-owned dogs diagnosed with TCC causing partial urethral obstruction were enrolled.

Therapeutic plasma exchange to mitigate flunixin meglumine overdose in a cria.

Objective: To describe the use of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in the treatment of flunixin meglumine overdose in a cria.

Case Summary: A 3-day-old alpaca cria was diagnosed with ureteral obstruction and agenesis resulting in severe bilateral hydronephrosis. During hospitalization, the cria inadvertently received a flunixin meglumine overdose of >65 mg/kg.

Subcutaneous ureteral bypass device placement with intraoperative ultrasound guidance, with or without microsurgical ureterotomy, in 24 cats.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe a method of subcutaneous ureteral bypass (SUB) device placement with intraoperative ultrasound guidance, with or without microsurgical ureterotomy, for the treatment of benign ureteral obstruction(s) in cats. A secondary aim was to describe the complications and outcomes in our population, and compare the two groups with and without ureterotomy.

Methods: The medical records of cats with benign ureteral obstruction(s) treated with SUB device placement with intraoperative ultrasound guidance between April 2013 and June 2018 were reviewed.

Presumptive malignant transformation of chronic polypoid cystitis into an apical transitional cell carcinoma without BRAF mutation in a young female dog.

A 3-year-old spayed female English Springer Spaniel was presented twice 4 months apart for investigation of hematuria and pollakiuria without urinary tract infection. Both ultrasound examinations identified a stable craniodorsal bladder wall thickening. The first cystoscopic biopsy samples indicated lymphoplasmacytic cystitis and the second polypoid cystitis.

Ampicillin pharmacokinetics in azotemic and healthy dogs.

Background: Little is known about effects of factors such as kidney disease, affecting ampicillin pharmacokinetics in dogs.

Objectives: Determine the pharmacokinetics of ampicillin after a single intravenous dose in healthy and azotemic dogs.

Animals: Nine dogs presenting with acute kidney injury and 10 healthy dogs.

Hyperammonemia in azotemic cats.

Objectives: Hyperammonemia occurs in cats with hepatobiliary and nutritional (cobalamin and arginine deficiency) disorders, and has also been documented in four cats with renal azotemia. We hypothesized that in cats with renal azotemia, fasting hyperammonemia would correlate with indices of worsening kidney function, and would be independent of cobalamin, potassium, systemic inflammation or urinary tract infection (UTI) with urease-producing bacteria.

Methods: A fasted blood sample was prospectively collected for ammonia and cobalamin analysis from 18 client-owned cats with renal azotemia (creatinine [Cr] ⩾1.

Canine Incontinence.

Incontinence is a frustrating condition for both pet owners and their veterinarians. Fortunately, most causes are easily diagnosed and most dogs respond to appropriate therapy. This article reviews normal urine storage and voiding, causes of incontinence, typical clinical presentation, diagnostics, and treatment.

ACVIM consensus update on Lyme borreliosis in dogs and cats.

An update of the 2006 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Small Animal Consensus Statement on Lyme Disease in Dogs: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention was presented at the 2016 ACVIM Forum in Denver, CO, followed by panel and audience discussion and a drafted consensus statement distributed online to diplomates for comment. The updated consensus statement is presented below. The consensus statement aims to provide guidance on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Lyme borreliosis in dogs and cats.

Current techniques in peritoneal dialysis.

Objective: To provide a current overview of the technique of peritoneal dialysis in dogs and cats.

Clinical Implication: Peritoneal dialysis is the process by which water and solutes move between blood in the peritoneal capillaries and fluid (dialysate) instilled into the peritoneal cavity, across the semipermeable membrane of the peritoneum. The primary indication for peritoneal dialysis (PD) in animals is for treatment of renal failure to correct water, solute, and acid-base abnormalities and to remove uremic toxins.

Intermittent hemodialysis for small animals.

Hemodialysis is a life-saving medical modality that cleanses the blood using an artificial kidney, called a dialyzer. Hemodialysis uses contact between the patient's blood and the semipermeable membrane of the extracorporeal dialyzer to remove compounds such as blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, electrolytes, minerals, anions, cations, certain drugs and toxins, and excess fluid from the bloodstream. The extracorporeal dialyzer distinguishes hemodialysis from peritoneal dialysis, which uses a patient's peritoneum as the dialysis membrane.

Peritoneal dialysis in veterinary medicine.

Peritoneal dialysis is a modality of renal replacement therapy that is commonly used in human medicine for treatment of chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney failure. Peritoneal dialysis uses the peritoneum as a membrane across which fluids and uremic solutes are exchanged. In this process, dialysate is instilled into the peritoneal cavity and, through the process of diffusion and osmosis, water, toxins, electrolytes, and other small molecules, are allowed to equilibrate.

Serum concentrations of the third component of complement in healthy dogs and dogs with protein-losing nephropathy.

Objective: To develop a method for determining the concentration of the third component of complement (C3) in canine serum, to establish a reference range for C3 in healthy dogs, and to evaluate dogs with protein-losing nephropathy (PLN) to determine whether PLN is associated with decreased serum C3 concentrations.

Animals: 30 healthy dogs and 49 dogs with PLN.

Procedures: Serum samples were obtained from healthy dogs at the time of examination, whereas serum samples were obtained from dogs with PLN at the time of diagnosis.

Hypertension in renal disease: diagnosis and treatment.

Hypertension is a common sequela to renal disease in cats and dogs, affecting as many as 61% cats and 93% of dogs, respectively. Undiagnosed and untreated, elevations in blood pressure can have deleterious effects on the brain and heart as well as promote further renal injury. In this article, we discuss the identification of patients at risk for hypertension as well as methods for measuring blood pressure and the treatment of hypertensive patients.