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·2015·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Biology·View original on PubMed →
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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 tested to see how their kidney function compared to cats with chronic kidney disease and healthy cats. The study found that while diabetic cats had some differences in kidney measurements, they did not show significant kidney damage compared to the other groups. About 39% of diabetic cats had protein in their urine, which can be a sign of kidney issues, but overall, their kidney function appeared stable. This suggests that diabetes in cats may not always lead to serious kidney problems right away, but regular monitoring is still important.
People also search for: cat diabetes kidney function · diabetic cat symptoms · protein in cat urine · chronic kidney disease in cats · healthy cat kidney values
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.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25425599/