Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Urine tests linked to urinary infections in cats with kidney
By Bailiff, Nathan L et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2008·Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of urine specific gravity and urine sediment as risk factors for urinary tract infections in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at cats with chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or lower urinary tract disease to see if certain urine tests could predict urinary tract infections (UTIs). They found that while many cats had positive urine cultures, factors like the presence of white blood cells, bacteria, and blood in the urine were more closely linked to UTIs than the urine's concentration level. Interestingly, older female Persians and those with lower body weight were more likely to have infections. This suggests that simply checking urine concentration isn't enough to determine UTI risk in these cats.
People also search for: cat urinary tract infection symptoms · cat kidney disease and UTI · Persian cat urinary problems · diabetes in cats and UTIs · hyperthyroidism in cats treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that diseases that promote isosthenuria predispose to urinary tract infections because of a lack of the common bacteriostatic properties present in concentrated urine. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinicopathologic risk factors for positive urine culture outcome in cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes mellitus (DM), uncontrolled hyperthyroidism (HT), or lower urinary tract disease (LUTD). METHODS: For this retrospective study, medical records of all cats in which a urinalysis and aerobic bacterial urine culture were performed between January 1995 and December 2002 were reviewed. Signalment, body weight, and clinicopathologic data were recorded. Based on the medical records, cats were diagnosed with CKD, DM, HT, or LUTD. Prevalence odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using logistic regression. Multivariate models were created for each variable of interest while controlling for the confounding effect of disease group. RESULTS: Six hundred fourteen cats met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Overall, positive urine cultures were identified in 16.9% of cats with CKD, 13.2% of cats with DM, 21.7% of cats with HT, and 4.9% of cats with clinical signs of LUTD. Decreasing urine specific gravity was not associated with positive urine culture when controlled for disease but pyuria, bacteriuria, and hematuria were all associated with positive urine culture outcome. Persians, females, increasing age, and decreasing body weight were all associated with positive urine culture outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Performing a urine culture sample based solely on the presence of isosthenuria does not seem warranted. Further studies are warranted to help identify host predisposing factors for urinary bacterial colonization in cats with these diseases.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18761526/