Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Plasma and urine NGAL levels in dogs with kidney injury or disease
By Steinbach, S et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2014·Small Animal Clinic (Internal Medicine), Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Plasma and urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in dogs with acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with kidney problems, including 48 with acute kidney injury (AKI) and 17 with chronic kidney disease (CKD), were tested for a protein called NGAL, which can indicate kidney damage. The results showed that dogs with AKI had much higher levels of NGAL in their blood and urine compared to healthy dogs and those with CKD. This suggests that measuring NGAL could help veterinarians tell the difference between AKI and CKD in dogs showing signs of kidney issues. Understanding these differences can lead to better treatment options for affected dogs.
People also search for: dog kidney injury symptoms · NGAL test for dogs · acute kidney injury in dogs treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a protein that is used in human medicine as a real-time indicator of acute kidney injury (AKI). HYPOTHESIS: Dogs with AKI have significantly higher plasma NGAL concentration and urine NGAL-to-creatinine ratio (UNCR) compared with healthy dogs and dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD). ANIMALS: 18 healthy control dogs, 17 dogs with CKD, and 48 dogs with AKI. METHODS: Over a period of 1 year, all dogs with renal azotemia were prospectively included. Urine and plasma samples were collected during the first 24 hours after presentation or after development of renal azotemia. Plasma and urine NGAL concentrations were measured with a commercially available canine NGAL Elisa Kit (Bioporto® Diagnostic) and UNCR was calculated. A single-injection plasma inulin clearance was performed in the healthy dogs. RESULTS: Median (range) NGAL plasma concentration in healthy dogs, dogs with CKD, and AKI were 10.7 ng/mL (2.5-21.2), 22.0 ng/mL (7.7-62.3), and 48.3 ng/mL (5.7-469.0), respectively. UNCR was 2 × 10(-8) (0-46), 1,424 × 10(-8) (385-18,347), and 2,366 × 10(-8) (36-994,669), respectively. Dogs with renal azotemia had significantly higher NGAL concentrations and UNCR than did healthy dogs (P < .0001 for both). Plasma NGAL concentration was significantly higher in dogs with AKI compared with dogs with CKD (P = .027). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Plasma NGAL could be helpful to differentiate AKI from CKD in dogs with renal azotemia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24417647/