PetCaseFinder

Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Kidney function tests in diabetic, kidney disease, and healthy cats

By Paepe, Dominique et al.·Published in Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery·2014·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium·View original on Crossref

PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →

Original publication title: Routine kidney variables, glomerular filtration rate and urinary cystatin C in cats with diabetes mellitus, cats with chronic kidney disease and healthy cats

Species:
cat

Plain-English summary

A group of diabetic cats was studied to see if they were more likely to have kidney problems compared to cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and healthy cats. The researchers measured various kidney function indicators and found that while diabetic cats had some differences in kidney function, they did not show significant kidney damage when compared to the other groups. About 39% of diabetic cats had protein in their urine, which can indicate kidney issues, but overall, the study did not find major kidney problems in diabetic cats. This suggests that diabetes may not have as severe an impact on kidney function in cats as it does in humans.

People also search for: cat diabetes kidney problems · diabetic cat symptoms · protein in cat urine treatment

Abstract

Objectives Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a frequent and serious complication in human diabetic patients, but data are limited in cats. This study was undertaken to assess whether diabetic cats are susceptible to DKD. Methods Kidney function was compared between 36 cats with diabetes mellitus (DM), 10 cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and 10 age-matched healthy cats by measuring routine kidney variables (serum creatinine [sCreat], serum urea [sUrea], urine specific gravity [USG], urinary protein:creatinine ratio [UPC]), urinary cystatin C:creatinine ratio and glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Urinary cystatin C (uCysC) was measured with a human particle-enhanced nephelometric immunoassay, validated to measure feline cystatin C, in all but two diabetic cats. GFR was evaluated by exo-iohexol clearance in 17 diabetic cats, all cats with CKD and all healthy cats. Results Diabetic cats had significantly (mean ± SD) lower sCreat (123 ± 38 vs 243 ± 80 µmol/l), sUrea (11 ± 3 vs 18 ± 7 mmol/l) and urinary cystatin C:creatinine ratio (6 ± 31 vs 173 ± 242 mg/mol), and a significantly higher USG (1.033 ± 0.012 vs 1.018 ± 0.006) and GFR (2.0 ± 0.7 vs 0.8 ± 0.3 ml/min/kg) compared with cats with CKD. Compared with healthy cats, diabetic cats only had significantly lower USG (1.033 ± 0.012 vs 1.046 ± 0.008). Proteinuria (UPC >0.4) was present in 39% of diabetic cats, in 30% of cats with CKD and in none of the healthy cats. However, the UPC did not differ statistically between the three groups. Conclusions and relevance Based on evaluation of routine kidney variables, GFR and uCysC as a tubular marker at a single time point, a major impact of feline DM on kidney function could not be demonstrated.

Find similar cases for your pet

PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.

Search related cases →

Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612x14559788