The dissertation is dedicated to the study of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats, its prevalence, the informativeness of early diagnostic methods (laboratory blood and urine tests, ultrasound examination, computed tomography, kidney biopsy, histological, histochemical, and electron microscopic examination of biopsies), the justification of certain links in the pathogenesis, and the development and evaluation of the effective complex therapy for cats with this pathology.
CKD diagnosis in cats at various stages was performed using clinical, laboratory, instrumental, and pathomorphological methods. In addition to clinical examination, serum levels of symmetric dimethylarginine, cystatin C, glomerular filtration rate, creatinine, urea, and other biochemical indicators (inorganic phosphorus, total calcium, potassium, T4 hormone, total protein, albumin, enzyme activities (AsAT, AlAT) were determined. Specific gravity, total protein, creatinine, and protein-to-creatinine ratio (UP/C) were measured in urine.
Based on biochemical blood studies, it was theoretically substantiated for the first time that markers for the early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease in cats include levels of symmetric dimethylarginine, cystatin C, and glomerular filtration rate in blood and protein, creatinine, and UP/C in urine.
The analysis of the obtained results experimentally and theoretically substantiated the informativeness of specific methods for the antemortem diagnosis (ultrasound, CT, biopsy, histological and histochemical studies, electron microscopy) of chronic kidney disease in cats.
The effect of the treatment was studied dynamically on the 5th, 10th, and 14th days. Cats were treated at each stage of the disease according to a developed protocol.
The best therapeutic results were obtained at stage II of chronic kidney disease due to the established early informative diagnostic tests. Treatment of cats with chronic kidney disease at stages III and IV positively affected the clinical condition and improved blood and urine laboratory indicators. It could ensure a quality of life and bring joy to their owners. The positive effect of antihypertensive therapy in the comprehensive treatment of cats with chronic kidney disease, which lowered systolic blood pressure, was proven.
The application is experimentally and theoretically justified veterinary drugs Phosphatbinder, Azomex, Semintra, Aranesp, and Lespedol®mini in complex treatment of cats with various stages of CKD. Chronic kidney disease is irreversible; curing cats at stages III and IV is impossible, but extending the quality of life is quite realistic thanks to improved early diagnostic methods and the effectiveness of treatment for cats at different stages of chronic kidney disease.
