Diagnosis of acute uremia

It is often difficult to discover the underlying cause of uremia in veterinary patients. The combination of results from history, physical examination, blood work, urine analysis, radiography, ultrasound and biopsy is often necessary for diagnostic assessment of acute uremia. Prerenal, intrinsic and postrenal causes have to be differentiated by clinical examination and urin specific gravity (USG). The body condition index of animals suffering form uremia due to acute kidney injury is normal in the most cases. Sometimes the abdomen and especially the kidneys are painful. The USG is often more than 1012 g/l, glucosuria and active urine sediment are often present. Normothermia or hyperthermia and leukocytosis are commonly seen in infectious kidney injury. Patients suffering from chronic kidney disease are commonly kach-ectic with pale mucous membranes, isosthenuria, proteinuria and inactive urinary sediment. Urine and blood values are unpredictable except for elevated urea, creatinine and phosphorus and an occasionally developing anemia.