Published: 11 Nov 2020 | Last Updated: 12 Nov 2020 10:40:02

Dr Laura Cole, Staff Clinician in Emergency and Critical care at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, has been awarded a grant by Petplan Charitable Trust, to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for the development of chronic kidney disease post acute kidney injury.

Acute kidney injury is a relatively common and serious condition in dogs. Dogs that survive acute kidney injury can make a full recovery or development permanent kidney damage (chronic kidney disease). Currently there is little known about how common chronic kidney disease is after an acute injury, nor do we know what factors are associated with increased risk for development of chronic kidney disease. The aims of this study are to determine how common chronic kidney disease is after an acute kidney insult. Routine blood markers of kidney injury will be used as well as advanced techniques to assess kidney function of dogs, 3 and 12 months after they have been discharged from hospital. These results will be reviewed alongside the findings on physical examination and urine analysis so that possible risk factors for the development of chronic kidney disease can be assessed.

Early recognition of chronic kidney disease will hopefully allow for early interventions such as diet modification to minimise the risk of progression of kidney disease in these dogs and hopefully to improve long-term survival.