In an age of advancing endoscopic and lithotripsy technologies, the management of urolithiasis poses a unique opportunity to advance compassionate veterinary care, not only for patients with urolithiasis but for those with other urinary diseases as well. The following are consensus‐derived, research and experience‐supported, patient‐centered recommendations for the treatment and prevention of uroliths in dogs and cats utilizing contemporary strategies. Ultimately, we hope that these recommendations will serve as a foundation for ongoing and future clinical research and inspiration for innovative problem solving.
Obesity is considered one of the most common forms of malnutrition occurring in dogs. Laboratory methods of evaluation of body composition in live dogs have included dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and deuterium oxide (D(2)O) dilution. Clinical methods of evaluation include assigning a body condition score (BCS) based on visual observation, palpation, and morphometric measurements. This study used these four methods to evaluate 23 healthy, adult, client-owned dogs. Good correlation (coefficient of determination [r(2)]=0.78) was found between measurements of percent body fat (%BF) determined by the D(2)O dilution method and the DEXA scan. Percent body fat can also be estimated using BCS (r(2)=0.92 comparison with DEXA) or by using morphometric measurements with simple calculations (r(2)=0.92 comparison with DEXA).
The prognosis of patients with uroabdomen depends on the extent of urinary and nonurinary injuries as well as the development of complications. Potential complications include dehiscence or urine leakage following surgical repair of the urinary tract, urosepsis, unresolving azotemia secondary to renal damage or underlying renal insufficiency, or stricture formation in the urinary tract.
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