Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Kidney injury signs in dogs bitten by European adder over time
By Harjen, Hannah J et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2021·Faculty of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serial serum creatinine, SDMA and urinary acute kidney injury biomarker measurements in dogs envenomated by the European adder (Vipera berus).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 35 dogs that were bitten by a European adder (Vipera berus) showed signs of mild kidney injury within hours of the bite, even though their standard kidney function tests remained normal. Researchers measured various urinary biomarkers to assess kidney damage, finding significant increases in certain markers at 12, 24, and 36 hours after the envenomation. Fortunately, these changes indicated a mild and temporary kidney injury, and the dogs did not show lasting effects 14 days later. This study highlights the importance of using specific urinary tests to detect early kidney issues in dogs after snake bites.
People also search for: dog snake bite symptoms · European adder envenomation treatment · dog kidney injury after snake bite
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with high morbidity and mortality in dogs, but diagnosis may be impaired due the insensitivity of routine renal function biomarkers to detect earlier or milder forms of injury. Snake envenomation is one of several causes of AKI in dogs and humans. Dogs are commonly envenomated by the European adder (Vipera berus) between April and October each year, but few studies exist examining serial serum creatinine (sCr) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) measurements and AKI biomarkers in these dogs. Novel urinary biomarkers could improve clinical outcome by allowing earlier diagnosis of and intervention in AKI. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of AKI in dogs envenomated by V. berus at 12, 24 and 36 h after bite, as well as 14 days later, using sCr, SDMA and a panel of urinary AKI biomarkers normalised to urine creatinine (uCr), compared to a group of healthy control dogs. RESULTS: Thirty-five envenomated dogs and 35 control dogs were included. Serum creatinine did not exceed the upper reference limit at any time point in any dog after envenomation. Serum SDMA did not exceed 0.89 μmol/L in any dog. Compared to controls, urinary albumin/uCr, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin/uCr and monocyte chemotactic protein-1/uCr were significantly elevated 12 h (P <  0.0001, P <  0.0001, P = 0.01), 24 h (P <  0.001, P <  0.001, P = 0.002) and 36 h (P <  0.001, P <  0.001, P = 0.0008) after bite. Osteopontin/uCr was higher 24 and 36 h after bite (P < 0.0001), kidney injury molecule-1/uCr, interleukin-8/uCr and γ- glutamyl transferase/uCr were significantly higher 36 h after bite (P = 0.003, P = 0.0005, P = 0.001). Urinary cystatin C/uCr was not significantly different to controls at any timepoint. Biomarker/uCr ratios were not significantly different 14 days after envenomation compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Urinary biomarker/Cr ratios are indicative of mild transient, non-azotaemic AKI in dogs envenomated by V. berus.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33845861/