Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Urine markers in dogs with different stages of chronic kidney disease
By Selin, Anna K et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2025·Department of Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Urinary Cystatin C, Glucose, Urea, and Electrolytes in Dogs at Various Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD) had their urine tested to see how different markers could indicate the disease's progression. The study found that urinary cystatin C levels increased as the CKD stage advanced, suggesting it could be a useful early marker for kidney issues. This means that if your dog is diagnosed with CKD, monitoring urinary cystatin C along with other markers could help your vet assess the condition more effectively.
People also search for: dog chronic kidney disease symptoms · early signs of kidney disease in dogs · urinary markers for dog kidney disease
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is limited knowledge of urine analytes in different stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dogs. OBJECTIVES: To study markers in urine and fractional excretion (FE) of markers in dogs of different stages of CKD and a healthy control group (C). ANIMALS: Fifty dogs in various stages of CKD and a control group of 30 healthy dogs. METHODS: In this cross-sectional observational study, dogs presenting to a referral hospital and given a diagnosis of CKD using standard methods, and healthy dogs, were included. Urinary cystatin C (uCysC), glucose (uGlu), protein (uProt), creatinine (uCr), urea (uUrea), sodium (uNa), potassium (uK), chloride (uCl), calcium (uCa), and phosphate (uP) were measured with an automated chemistry analyzer. Included analytes were normalized to uCr, FE of electrolytes and urea was calculated, and results compared among groups. RESULTS: Age, bodyweight, and sex were not different among groups. Urinary CysC/uCr and FE of electrolytes increased with IRIS stage. Median (IQR) for uCysC/uCr was 0.08 (0.04-0.25) 10in dogs with CKD stage 1 and 0.03 (0.02-0.045) 10in control dogs (p = 0.0002). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Urinary CysC might be a potential marker of early CKD, preferably as part of a panel of urinary markers. FE of electrolytes seemed to depend on the serum creatinine level in dogs with azotemic CKD.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40265314/