Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Urine test to detect kidney damage in dogs with leishmaniosis
By Pantaleo, Valeria et al.·Published in Research in veterinary science·2026·San Marco Veterinary Clinic and Laboratory, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of urinary amylase to creatinine ratio alone and in combination with urinary electrophoresis as a marker of renal damage in dogs with leishmaniosis undergoing conventional anti-Leishmania treatment.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with leishmaniosis, a disease caused by parasites, was tested for kidney damage using a urine test that measures the ratio of amylase to creatinine. The study found that this urine test could help identify kidney problems at diagnosis and track recovery after treatment with medications. In particular, dogs with certain types of protein in their urine showed significant changes in their test results after treatment. This suggests that monitoring the amylase-to-creatinine ratio could be useful for veterinarians in assessing kidney health in dogs with leishmaniosis.
People also search for: dog leishmaniosis treatment · kidney damage in dogs · urine test for dog kidney health
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate urinary amylase-to-creatinine ratio (uAm/Cr) alone and in combination with urinary sodium dodecyl-sulphate agarose gel electrophoresis (SDS-AGE) as a potential marker of renal damage in dogs with leishmaniosis at the time of diagnosis and post-treatment with meglumine antimoniate and allopurinol or miltefosine and allopurinol. Thirty-six healthy dogs and 31 dogs with leishmaniosis were enrolled in this prospective longitudinal study. Based on the initial creatinine (Cr) and urinary protein to creatinine ratio (UPC) values, leishmaniotic dogs were divided in: Group 1 if Cr was <1.4 mg/dl and UPC ≤ 0.5 (n = 14), Group 2 if Cr was <1.4 mg/dl and UPC > 0.5 (n = 11), and Group 3 if Cr was >1.4 mg/dl and a UPC > 0.5 (n = 6). According to SDS-AGE, 3 dogs had albuminuria, 4 tubular, and 20 mixed proteinuria at diagnosis. Post-treatment, 4 dogs had albuminuria, 5 tubular, 5 glomerular and 9 mixed proteinuria. At diagnosis the uAm/Cr was significantly different between all groups (P < 0.001) and after treatment decreased significantly only in Group 2 (269.7 [150.8-945] versus 8 [5-49.1], P = 0.001). At diagnosis and post-treatment, the uAm/Cr was significantly higher in dogs with mixed proteinuria (n = 20) compared to dogs with albuminuria and tubular proteinuria (n = 7) (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.003, respectively). The results suggest that uAm/cr could be a marker to evaluate renal damage at the time of diagnosis and eventual recovery after anti-Leishmania treatment, especially in dogs with proteinuria without azotemia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41955684/