Comparative evaluation of renal ultrasonographic changes, histogram, and laboratory tests in dogs during the period between 2010 -2011

• Grant number: 11/06098-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2011
• End date: May 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Maria Jaqueline Mamprim de Arruda Monteiro
• Grantee: Tatiane de Freitas
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The number of dogs suffering from kidney disorders in the practice of veterinary clinic is great and the main clinical signs are urinary increased frequency, dysuria, hematuria, polydipsia, polyuria, weight loss, nausea and vomiting, among others.Ultrasound examination is a valuable tool to the clinicians, providing information about the topography, shape, position and internal architecture of the kidney, assisting the diagnosis. The main changes that can be observed in the case of kidney disease are: increase or decrease in the renal cortex echogenicity, loss of corticomedullary definition, presence of medullary sinal, irregular contours, dimensions and position changed. In addition to the imaging examination, laboratory tests should be performed. With these tests the clinicians are able to determine the origin and location of the renal disease, although the ultrasonographic changes are hardly quantified. Therefore the aim of this paper is to study the ultrasonographic images of kidneys diseases in dogs, to measure, quantitatively, the increased of the renal cortex echogenicity, by the histogram, and to compare these data with laboratory tests of renal function, in order to search for information to orient more specifically renal ultrasonography.Keywords: kidney disease, ultrasound, urinalysis, biochemical exams and histogram.