Equine Urinary Medicine Flashcards
What is acute renal failure?
An abrupt and sustained decrease in GFR resulting in azotaemia and disturbances in fluid, electrolyte and acid-base homeostasis
Why is it important to identify patients at risk of acute renal failure early?
Acute renal failure is reversible in the early stages
Are pre-renal, renal or post-renal acute renal failures most common in horses?
In adult horses usually pre-renal (haemodynamic) or renal
Post-renal less common - neonates with bladder rupture, rarely obstruction
What are the causes of pre-renal acute renal failure in horses?
Haemodynamic:
- Hypovolaemia e.g. colitis, sweat, blood loss
- Volume redistribution e.g. effusions
- Decreased cardiac output
- Altered vascular resistance e.g. sepsis and endotoxaemia
What are the common and less common causes of renal acute renal failure in horses?
- Primarily acute tubular necrosis secondary to ischaemia or nephrotoxin exposure
- Less commonly glomerulonephritis e.g. immune mediated (EIA) or post-infection e.g. Strep. Equi
- or interstitial nephritis e.g. pyelonephritis
Describe ischaemia as a renal cause of acute renal failure
- Prolonged haemodynamic changes, renal infarction, NSAID administration
- Large blood flow (20% cardiac output)
- Only 10 to 20% of blood flow to the kidneys reaches the medulla - more susceptible to ischaemic injury when there is damage to the blood supply
Describe nephrotoxins as a renal cause of acute renal failure
- Antibiotics e.g. aminoglycosides, polymixin B, tetracyclines
- Endogenous substances e.g. haemoglobin and myoglobin
- Others e.g. NSAIDs, heavy metals
- 90% of the blood flow is filtered by the cortex - susceptible to toxins
Most drug toxicities are exacerbated by …?
Concurrent dehydration
What should be monitored in horses on potentially nephrotoxic drug therapy? Why?
Serum creatinine
- Particularly if there is evidence of concurrent hypovolaemia, endotoxaemia, or renal insufficiency
- Treat aggressively if creatinine rises significantly
Describe the main features of aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity
- Neomycin is the most nephrotoxic
- Filtered by the glomerulus (no metabolism - all excreted by the kidneys)
- Reabsorbed by proximal tubular epithelial cells
- Accumulation in proximal tubular cells interferes
- Reabsorption is time dependant - vs dose dependant, therefore single dose daily will reduce toxicity and accumulation
Describe the main features of NSAID nephrotoxicity
- Toxicity due to renal medullary crest and papillary necrosis and sloughing of the tubular epithelial cells in the kidneys
- Dose dependant effects
- Secondary to ischaemia secondary to prostaglandin (PGE2 & PGI2 or COX 1) inhibition
What are the clinical signs of acute renal failure?
- Usually referable to the primary problem e.g. acute colic or colitis
- Anorexia and depression
- Uraemia, fluid, electrolyte & acid-base disturbances
- May be just a worsening of the primary problem, or an apparent lack of response to therapy
How is acute renal failure diagnosed?
- History, clinical signs, results of urinalysis and serum biochemistry
- Other tests: e.g. fractional excretion of electrolytes, GGT/creatinine ratio
- Proteinuria, glucosuria
- Sediment exam
Increases in … and … need to be differentiated from the effects of dehydration or pre-renal azotaemia
BUN
Creatinine
How can you determine if the azotaemia is pre-renal?
Pre-renal azotaemia should be quickly reversible with fluid therapy and present with maximally concentrated (>1.035) urine prior to fluid therapy
What causes GGT to increase?
Damage to tubules
Other tests: e.g. fractional excretion of electrolytes, GGT/creatinine ratio, can only be performed when?
Only on urine collected before fluid therpay
What makes the normal urine of horses cloudy?
Carbonate crystals
What can cause an increase in protein in horses urine (normal)
Mucus which lubricates the urinary tract
Describe the electrolyte changes seen in acute renal failure
Hyponatraemia and hypochloraemia – May also see hypocalcaemia & hyperphosphataemia
Why are IV fluids used as a part of acute renal failure treatement?
- Improve renal perfusion, correct metabolic disturbances and induce diuresis
- Aim to prevent pre-renal failure developing into intrinsic renal failure
- Replace fluid deficits and maintain on twice maintenance provided polyuric
What needs to be monitored when treating acute renal failure?
- Monitor body weight, PCV and serum protein
- Estimate dehydration and continue to monitor - if increase above expected baseline, may be overhydrating or use CVP
- Monitor serum biochemistry
Which 2 drugs can be used for diuretic therpay?
Furosemide
Dopamine
Compare furosemide and dopamine as diuretics
Furosemide:
- Must be filtered at the glomerulus to work
- Care with exacerbating volume depletion and potentiating drug effects
- May make things worse in a dehydrated pateint
Dopamine:
- Recommended
- Potent renal vasodilator that acts directly on specific receptors on arterioles. Give via infusion - care with arrhythmias
Is glomerular disease seen more as chronic or acute renal failure?
Chronic
List the clinical signs of chronic renal failure
- Chronic weight loss
- Lethargy, poor hair coat, PU/PD, poor performance (mild anaemia)
- May see oral ulceration, gastroenteritis, excessive tartar and halitosis
- Ventral oedema inconsistent
Describe the test results which indicate chronic renal failure
- Persistent isosthenuria (1.008 - 1.014) with azotaemia and clinical signs
- Mild anaemia, mild hypoalbuminaemia
- Electrolyte abnormalities – hypercalcaemia, hypo PO4,hypoNa, HypoCl and low bicarbonate
Why is hypercalcemia seen in chronic renal failure?
In horses its normal to absorb large amount of Ca from the diet for the kidneys to eliminate (not like this in SAs)
So when the kidneys stop working you get large amount of Ca accumulation
How is ultrasound used in diagnosing chronic renal failure?
- Left kidneys lies deep to the spleen
- Right kidney lies next to the caecum and duodenum
- Endoscopy collection of ureter samples to look at relative severity of effect in each kidney, culture, biopsy
How is chronic renal failure in horses treated?
- Palliative only
- Ensure water and salt always available
- Improve nutrition with lower protein (< 10% if possible) to manage BUN
- Decrease calcium if high calcium diet (alfalfa)
- Care with excessive fat supplementation due to risk of hyperlipaemia
Describe the prognosis of chronic renal failure in horses
- If mild to moderate elevations in creatinine (<200 U/L), some horses can survive a long time
- Poor long term prognosis and shorter time if creatinine is higher.
- > 800 U/L prognosis is grave
How is polyuria define in horses?
Urine output exceeding 50 mL/Kg/day ≈ 25 L of urine in 500 Kg horse
How is polydipsia define in horses?
Fluid intake of more than 100 mL/Kg/day ≈ 50 L of water in 500 Kg horse