A.M. van Dongen

Agglutinating antibodies against pathogenic Leptospira in healthy dogs and horses indicate common exposure and regular occurrence of subclinical infections

In order to get insight in the level of exposure to pathogenic Leptospira under the moderate sea climate conditions in the Netherlands, healthy dogs and horses were tested for antibodies using the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). 55% of 198 dogs tested had agglutinating antibodies against one or more pathogenic serovars with serovar Copenhageni, the common cause of Weils disease in dogs and humans, being predominant. Of a total 112 horses tested 79% had agglutinating antibodies against one or more pathogenic serovars, again with serovar Copenhageni predominating. Some dogs may have been vaccinated, but the low prevalence of anti-serovar Canicola antibodies and the results of an unvaccinated group suggest that this did not really influence the outcome. Horses, however, are never vaccinated. Results demonstrate that exposure to, and subclinical infections with, serovar Copenhageni and other pathogenic serovars commonly occur in dogs and horses in the Netherlands. Humans share part of their biotope with these species and are therefore also exposed, although probably to a lesser extent as a result of their less intimate contact with the environment.

Consensus Recommendations for the Diagnostic Investigation of Dogs with Suspected Glomerular Disease

BACKGROUND The International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) offers guidelines for chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury. As dogs with glomerular disease may present differently and require different treatment than those with whole nephron or tubular disease, the IRIS Canine Glomerulonephritis (GN) Study Group was convened to formulate guidelines for these cases. The Diagnosis Subgroup was asked to make recommendations for diagnostic evaluation of such cases. OBJECTIVE To seek consensus among renal specialists for the evaluation of dogs with proteinuria because of suspected glomerular disease. METHODS After reviewing the literature, subgroup members discussed and wrote the draft paper and recommendations, which members of the IRIS Canine GN Study Group voted upon by electronic secret ballot, with comments noted. Consensus was declared if votes showed strong or general agreement from 85% of the respondents. RESULTS Diagnostic tests were categorized as essential, recommended, or potentially helpful, with prioritization dependent on case characteristics, eg, for cases with uncomplicated proteinuria versus complicated with hypoalbuminemia, azotemia, or both. Consensus was reached with 86-100% agreement on all questions posed. All cases should have basic examinations including blood pressure measurement, blood, and urine testing, and a search for infectious diseases relevant to their environs. The majority ranked imaging (chest radiographs, abdominal ultrasonogram) and renal biopsy procured and interpreted by experienced personnel as essential evaluations in complicated cases, but a few respondents deemed these to be essential in uncomplicated cases as well. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Strong consensus about recommendations for diagnostic evaluation of dogs with suspected glomerular protein loss was attained. These guidelines help clinicians characterize disease processes for more informed therapeutic decision-making.

Cardiovascular-renal axis disorders in the domestic dog and cat: a veterinary consensus statement

OBJECTIVES There is a growing understanding of the complexity of interplay between renal and cardiovascular systems in both health and disease. The medical profession has adopted the term “cardiorenal syndrome” (CRS) to describe the pathophysiological relationship between the kidney and heart in disease. CRS has yet to be formally defined and described by the veterinary profession and its existence and importance in dogs and cats warrant investigation. The CRS Consensus Group, comprising nine veterinary cardiologists and seven nephrologists from Europe and North America, sought to achieve consensus around the definition, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of dogs and cats with “cardiovascular-renal disorders” (CvRD). To this end, the Delphi formal methodology for defining/building consensus and defining guidelines was utilised. METHODS Following a literature review, 13 candidate statements regarding CvRD in dogs and cats were tested for consensus, using a modified Delphi method. As a new area of interest, well-designed studies, specific to CRS/CvRD, are lacking, particularly in dogs and cats. Hence, while scientific justification of all the recommendations was sought and used when available, recommendations were largely reliant on theory, expert opinion, small clinical studies and extrapolation from data derived from other species. RESULTS Of the 13 statements, 11 achieved consensus and 2 did not. The modified Delphi approach worked well to achieve consensus in an objective manner and to develop initial guidelines for CvRD. DISCUSSION The resultant manuscript describes consensus statements for the definition, classification, diagnosis and management strategies for veterinary patients with CvRD, with an emphasis on the pathological interplay between the two organ systems. By formulating consensus statements regarding CvRD in veterinary medicine, the authors hope to stimulate interest in and advancement of the understanding and management of CvRD in dogs and cats. The use of a formalised method for consensus and guideline development should be considered for other topics in veterinary medicine.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association Renal Pathology Initiative: Classification of Glomerular Diseases in Dogs

Evaluation of canine renal biopsy tissue has generally relied on light microscopic (LM) evaluation of hematoxylin and eosin–stained sections ranging in thickness from 3 to 5 µm. Advanced modalities, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunofluorescence (IF), have been used sporadically or retrospectively. Diagnostic algorithms of glomerular diseases have been extrapolated from the World Health Organization classification scheme for human glomerular disease. With the recent establishment of 2 veterinary nephropathology services that evaluate 3-µm sections with a panel of histochemical stains and routinely perform TEM and IF, a standardized objective species-specific approach for the diagnosis of canine glomerular disease was needed. Eight veterinary pathologists evaluated 114 parameters (lesions) in renal biopsy specimens from 89 dogs. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the data revealed 2 large categories of glomerular disease based on the presence or absence of immune complex deposition: The immune complex–mediated glomerulonephritis (ICGN) category included cases with histologic lesions of membranoproliferative or membranous patterns. The second category included control dogs and dogs with non-ICGN (glomerular amyloidosis or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis). Cluster analysis performed on only the LM parameters led to misdiagnosis of 22 of the 89 cases—that is, ICGN cases moved to the non-ICGN branch of the dendrogram or vice versa, thereby emphasizing the importance of advanced diagnostic modalities in the evaluation of canine glomerular disease. Salient LM, TEM, and IF features for each pattern of disease were identified, and a preliminary investigation of related clinicopathologic data was performed.

Functioning of catfish electroreceptors: Bursting discharge pattern of Kryptopterus electroreceptors elicited by microelectrode impalement

Abstract 1. I. The time course of the spontaneous discharge of Kryptopterus ampullary electroreceptors may change from regular to bursting upon impalement by a glass microelectrode. 2. 2. The burst duration is very constant relative to the interburst interval, during spontaneous fluctuations as well as in response to low-frequency stimulation. 3. 3. Implications for the current model of the functioning of catfish electroreceptors are discussed.

Canine von Willebrand's disease type 2 in German wirehair pointers in the Netherlands

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European Veterinary Renal Pathology Service: A Survey Over a 7-Year Period (2008-2015)

Background The European Veterinary Renal Pathology Service (EVRPS) is the first Web‐based registry for canine renal biopsy specimens in Europe. Hypothesis/Objectives The aim was to verify whether differences exist between the clinical and laboratory presentation of dogs with nephropathy according to renal pathological findings, as defined by light and electron microscopy of renal biopsy specimens submitted to EVRPS. Animals Renal biopsy specimens of dogs were collected from the archive of the service (n = 254). Cases were included if both light and electron microscopy were available (n = 162). Methods Renal biopsy specimens were classified based on the morphological diagnoses. Thereafter, they were grouped into 3 disease categories, including immune‐complex‐mediated glomerulonephritis (ICGN), non‐immune‐complex‐mediated GN (non‐ICGN), and renal lesions not otherwise specified (RL‐NOS). Differences among morphological diagnoses and among disease categories were investigated for clinical and laboratory variables. Results Serum albumin concentration was lower in dogs with ICGN than in those with non‐ICGN (P = 0.006) or RL‐NOS (P = 0.000), and the urine protein‐to‐creatinine ratio (UPC) was significantly higher in ICGN than in the other 2 disease categories. Regarding morphological diagnoses, albumin was significantly lower in amyloidosis (AMY) and membranous (MGN), membranoproliferative (MPGN) or mixed glomerulonephritis (MixGN) than in minimal change disease, primary (FSGS I) or secondary (FSGS II) focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis and juvenile nephropathies (JN). The UPC was higher in MPGN than in FSGS I and FSGS II. Conclusions and clinical importance Dogs with ICGN, in particular MPGN, had higher protein loss than those with non‐ICGN or RL‐NOS, leading to more severe hypoalbuminemia. Clinical and laboratory differentiation among dogs with the different morphological diagnoses and among dogs with different disease categories was difficult due to overlapping results.

Houdingen en fixatiemethoden

In de paragraaf over de omgang met de patient (§ 8.2) is aangegeven dat voor sommige onderdelen van het lichamelijk onderzoek een bepaalde lichaamshouding gewenst is. Ook is genoemd dat een enkele keer een patient een onderzoek of handeling niet toelaat.

Nieren en urinewegen

De functies van de nieren en van de urinewegen hangen nauw met elkaar samen, maar verschillen toch sterk van elkaar. De nieren vervullen een belangrijke rol bij de handhaving van de homeostase. Door de productie van urine worden eindproducten van de stofwisseling geelimineerd en wordt de samenstelling van de extracellulaire vloeistof binnen nauwe grenzen gehandhaafd.

Verzamelen van materiaal voor laboratoriumdiagnostiek

Aan het slot van diverse hoofdstukken is een korte opsomming gegeven van de mogelijkheden voor verdere diagnostiek. Daaronder wordt vaak ook laboratoriumonderzoek genoemd. Resultaten van laboratoriumonderzoek zijn vaak van groot belang voor het diagnostisch proces c.q. bij de toetsing van de uit anamnese en lichamelijk onderzoek voortgekomen hypothese(n) (zie ook § 3.2).