Persistent microalbuminuria has been shown to be an indicator of glomerular damage associated with early progressive renal disease in people and dogs. In people, transient or reversible microalbuminuria has been shown to occur with exercise. A semi-quantitative test to measure microalbuminuria in the dog (ERD®, Heska Corp, Ft. Collins, CO) recently has become available. This study was aimed at determining if microalbuminuria could be induced by mild to moderate exercise in the dog. Twenty-six dogs were studied after undergoing tests to rule out hyperglycemia, urinary tract infection, azotemia, and a urine protein:creatinine ratio > 1. Exercise consisted of 20 min of flat treadmill running. Urine samples were collected on 2 separate days before exercise, the morning of exercise, 3 h post-exercise, 7-9 h post-exercise, and each of 2 mornings after exercise. For 24 of 26 dogs, this procedure was repeated after a minimum 7-d interval between exercise sessions. The canine ERD (early renal disease)-Screen Urine Test was used to determine semiquantitative urine albumin concentrations. Microalbuminuria-positive samples were further analyzed to determine quantitative albumin concentrations. Four (15%) dogs were microalbuminuria positive. In each of them, microalbuminuria was present both before and after exercise with no quantitative increase in urine albumin concentration post-exercise. Twenty-two (85%) dogs were microalbuminuria-negative throughout the study and did not develop microalbuminuria at any time after exercise. On a 95% confidence interval, the proportion of dogs that might be expected to develop microalbuminuria after exercise is between 0 and 15%.

Reference: Gary, Cohn, Kerl, Jensen. J Vet Intern Med 18: 52-55, 2004

Retrospective study of 100 dogs with persistent urinary tract infections (UTIs) or reinfections was performed. Criteria for selection included > or = 2 positive urine cultures within a 6-mo period. Signalment, presence of predisposing disorders, urinalysis and urine culture results, and treatment strategies were extracted from the medical records. Dogs had median age of 7 y when 1st diagnosed. Dogs younger than 3 and > 10 y were at increased and decreased risks, respectively, for reinfections or persistent UTIs. Spayed females were more common in the UTI population. More than 50% of the dogs were asymptomatic for UTI at 1st presentation. Urine sediment examinations identified hematuria, pyuria, and bacteriuria in 47, 72, and 85% of the samples, respectively. The most commonly isolated organisms were E.coli and Strep/Enterococcus spp.; multiple isolates also were common. Of the isolates, 29.5% were resistant to achievable serum concentrations of all antibiotics commonly prescribed for PO administration. Dogs with abnormal micturition were more likely to have infections by organisms resistant to commonly prescribed antibiotics. Potentially predisposing disorders were identified in 71 dogs. A correction of these disorders was accomplished in 35% of them. Dogs given standard antibiotic therapy without addressing predisposing disorders experienced poor control of UTIs; 74.5% of these dogs had an apparent disease-free interval of > 8 weeks. By comparison, dogs in which predisposing disorders were corrected or those that were treated with low-dose, long-term antibiotic regimens subjectively had better control.

References: Seguin, Vaden, Altier, et al. J Vet Intern Med Volume 17: 622-31, 2003.

This prospective study investigated D-dimer concentrations in clinically healthy dogs, clinically ill dogs without thromboembolic disease (TE), and dogs with TE. The goals were to determine whether the coagulation cascade is activated in nonembolic metabolic and inflammatory conditions and whether differentiation from TE is possible. Group 1 consisted of 30 clinically healthy dogs presented for routine care. Group 2 consisted of 67 clinically ill dogs without TE. This group was subdivided into the following categories: postoperative surgical procedures, congestive heart failure, renal failure, hepatic disease, and neoplastic disease. Group 3 consisted of 20 dogs diagnosed with TE. CBC and measurement of prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT), fibrinogen degradation product (FDP) concentration, and plasma D-dimer concentration was performed on dogs in all groups. D-dimer concentrations were highest in dogs with TE; and next highest was the hepatic disease group. Only these 2 groups had median D-dimer concentrations markedly different from clinically healthy dogs. The frequency of platelet abnormalities was markedly greater for the TE and neoplastic disease groups. The sensitivity of D-dimer concentrations > 500 ng/mL for predicting TE was 100%; however, the specificity of D-dimer for TE at that concentration was only 70%. The specificity of D-dimer concentrations > 1,000 ng/mL to predict TE was 94% (sensitivity, 80%), and the specificity of D-dimer concentrations > 2,000 ng/mL was 98.5% (sensitivity, 36%). FDPs were not high in any TE patient; and thus, the FDP test may be an insensitive indicator of thromboembolism, with or without overt disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

Reference: Nelson, Andreasen. J Vet Intern Med Volume 17: 830-4, 2003.