Original Research

Are urea and creatinine values reliable indicators of azotaemia in canine babesiosis?

M.P. De Scally, R.G. Lobetti, F. Reyers, D. Humphris
Journal of the South African Veterinary Association | Vol 75, No 3 | a466 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/jsava.v75i3.466 | © 2004 M.P. De Scally, R.G. Lobetti, F. Reyers, D. Humphris | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 20 June 2004 | Published: 20 June 2004

About the author(s)

M.P. De Scally,
R.G. Lobetti,
F. Reyers,
D. Humphris,

Full Text:

PDF (231KB)

Abstract

Serum urea and creatinine are extensively used as parameters to screen for azotaemia. Their reciprocal plots roughly correlate with glomerular filtration rate (GFR). They are, however, subject to influence by non-renal factors and to increase their specificity they are often tested concurrently. In renal disease they are expected to behave similarly, with both parameters increasing as GFR decreases. Haemolysis, as it occurs in canine babesiosis, may cause non-renal elevations in serum urea, possibly due to ammonia loading. Furthermore, haemolysis with its related elevations in serum bilirubin and serum haemoglobin, may negatively bias the measurement of serum creatinine due to interference of these substances with the chemical analysis of serum creatinine. This negative bias occurs when the alkaline picrate method, or when direct enzymatic methods based on the measurement of hydrogen peroxide, are used. In order to investigate the significance of these perturbations in canine babesiosis, paired values of serum urea and serum creatinine from Babesia canis-negative, non-haemolysis dogs (Group 1), were used to establish a relationship between urea and creatinine over a range of azotaemia by linear regression analysis. This relationship was then used to predict serum creatinine values from actual serum urea values in B. canis-positive dogs (Group 2). The mean of the predicted serum creatinine values for Group 2 (237.03 mmol/ℓ) was then compared with the mean of the actual serum creatinine values for Group 2 (131.31 mmol/ℓ). For Group 2, themeanactual serumcreatinine demonstrated a significant negative bias relative to the mean predicted creatinine value. There was also a higher correlation between serum urea and serum creatinine in Group 1 than in Group 2. These findings may have been caused by either nonrenal elevations of serum urea values or by interference with the measurement of serum creatinine. Therefore, although it is possible that some Group 2 dogs with B. canis with high serum urea and normal, low, or zero values for serumcreatinine were not azotaemic, it is also possible that other Group 2 dogs with these biochemical findings did in fact have azotaemia. This study concluded that urea and creatinine do not behave in a similar and predictable manner over a range of azotaemia in canine babesiosis and are therefore not ideally suited for the detection of renal disease in this clinical setting.

Keywords

Ammonia; Dog; Haemoglobin; Interference; Non-Renal Elevations

Metrics

Total abstract views: 4004
Total article views: 3835

 

Crossref Citations

1. The South African form of severe and complicated canine babesiosis: Clinical advances 1994–2004
Linda S. Jacobson
Veterinary Parasitology  vol: 138  issue: 1-2  first page: 126  year: 2006  
doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2006.01.047

2. Clinico-pathological findings and coagulation disorders in 45 cases of canine babesiosis in Spain
Rafael Ruiz de Gopegui, Begoña Peñalba, Ana Goicoa, Yvonne Espada, Luis E. Fidalgo, Luciano Espino
The Veterinary Journal  vol: 174  issue: 1  first page: 129  year: 2007  
doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2006.05.017

3. Abdominal compartment syndrome in a dog with babesiosis
Kenneth E. Joubert, Patricia A. Oglesby, Justine Downie, Tania Serfontein
Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care  vol: 17  issue: 2  first page: 184  year: 2007  
doi: 10.1111/j.1476-4431.2006.00219.x

4. Occurrence and correlates of azotaemia in dogs presented for veterinary care in a tertiary veterinary hospital in Nigeria
N. T. Emejuo, J. N. Omeke, J. I. Ihedioba, S. V. O. Shoyinka
Revista de Medicina Veterinaria  year: 2023  
doi: 10.19052/mv.vol1.iss47.13

5. Assessment of renal dysfunction using urinary markers in canine babesiosis caused by Babesia rossi
P. Defauw, J.P. Schoeman, P. Smets, A. Goddard, E. Meyer, C. Liebenberg, S. Daminet
Veterinary Parasitology  vol: 190  issue: 3-4  first page: 326  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.07.023

6. Clinicopathological alterations in naturally occurring Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs of Middle-South Gujarat, India
Avinash K. Bilwal, Ghanshyam C. Mandali, Falguni B. Tandel
Veterinary World  vol: 10  issue: 10  first page: 1227  year: 2017  
doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2017.1227-1232

7. Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as an early biomarker for acute kidney injury in dogs
S. Scheemaeker, E. Meyer, J.P. Schoeman, P. Defauw, L. Duchateau, S. Daminet
The Veterinary Journal  vol: 255  first page: 105423  year: 2020  
doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2019.105423

8. NT-ProBNP and cardiac troponin I in virulent canine babesiosis
Remo Lobetti, Robert Kirberger, Ninette Keller, Frank Kettner, Eran Dvir
Veterinary Parasitology  vol: 190  issue: 3-4  first page: 333  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.07.021

9. Prognostic markers and their discriminant score in predicting the outcome of Babesia gibsoni infection
Rajamanickam Kandasamy, Leela Venkatasubramanian, Karuppusamy Loganathasamy, Bhaskaran Ravi Latha, Balagangatharathilagar Mani
Veterinary Record  vol: 188  issue: 5  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1002/vetr.29

10. Serum and urine profiling by high-throughput TMT-based proteomics for the investigation of renal dysfunction in canine babesiosis
Petra Bilić, Anita Horvatić, Josipa Kuleš, Andrea Gelemanović, Blanka Beer Ljubić, Alberto Mũnoz-Prieto, Jelena Gotić, Damir Žubčić, Renata Barić Rafaj, Vladimir Mrljak
Journal of Proteomics  vol: 270  first page: 104735  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2022.104735

11. Renal azotemia and associated clinical and laboratory findings in dogs with Babesia rossi infection
P. Defauw, S. Daminet, A.L. Leisewitz, A. Goddard, D. Paepe, L. Duchateau, J.P. Schoeman
Veterinary Parasitology  vol: 260  first page: 22  year: 2018  
doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2018.07.012

12. Canine Babesiosis
Peter J. Irwin
Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice  vol: 40  issue: 6  first page: 1141  year: 2010  
doi: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2010.08.001

13. Glomerular and tubular kidney damage markers in canine babesiosis caused by Babesia canis
Josipa Kuleš, Petra Bilić, Blanka Beer Ljubić, Jelena Gotić, Martina Crnogaj, Mirna Brkljačić, Vladimir Mrljak
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases  vol: 9  issue: 6  first page: 1508  year: 2018  
doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.07.012

14. Changes in the serum urea: Creatinine ratio in dogs with babesiosis, haemolytic anaemia, and experimental haemoglobinaemia
Remo Lobetti
The Veterinary Journal  vol: 191  issue: 2  first page: 253  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2011.01.027

15. Peritoneal Dialysis in A Dog with Acute Renal Failure Caused by the Infection with Babesia Canis
Andrzej Pomianowski, Sylwia Lew, Zygmunt Kuleta, Anna Snarska, Aleksander Kasprowicz
Polish Journal of Natural Science  vol: 23  issue: 1  first page: 257  year: 2008  
doi: 10.2478/v10020-008-0020-4

16. Evaluation of acute kidney injury in dogs with complicated or uncomplicated Babesia rossi infection
P. Defauw, J.P. Schoeman, A.L. Leisewitz, A. Goddard, L. Duchateau, L. Aresu, E. Meyer, S. Daminet
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases  vol: 11  issue: 3  first page: 101406  year: 2020  
doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101406

17. Neutrophil Gelatinase‐Associated Lipocalin in Cats with Naturally Occurring Chronic Kidney Disease
I.‐C. Wang, W.‐L. Hsu, P.‐H. Wu, H.‐Y. Yin, H.‐J. Tsai, Y.‐J. Lee
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine  vol: 31  issue: 1  first page: 102  year: 2017  
doi: 10.1111/jvim.14628

18. ABDOMINAL ULTRASONOGRAPHIC FINDINGS IN DOGS NATURALLY INFECTED WITH BABESIOSIS
EDUARDO FRAGA, JOSÉ DANIEL BARREIRO, ANA GOICOA, LUCIANO ESPINO, GEMMA FRAGA, ANDRÉS BARREIRO
Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound  vol: 52  issue: 3  first page: 323  year: 2011  
doi: 10.1111/j.1740-8261.2010.01775.x

19. Neurologic Complications of Babesiosis, United States, 2011–2021
Sara Locke, Jane O’Bryan, Adeel S. Zubair, Melissa Rethana, Anne Spichler Moffarah, Peter J. Krause, Shelli F. Farhadian
Emerging Infectious Diseases  vol: 29  issue: 6  year: 2023  
doi: 10.3201/eid2906.221890

20. Strong monovalent electrolyte imbalances in serum of dogs infected with Babesia canis
Wojciech Zygner, Olga Gójska-Zygner, Halina Wędrychowicz
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases  vol: 3  issue: 2  first page: 107  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2012.02.002