Retest numbers gone awry

[drjsiems]

Jake's had his senior profile about three months ago, he is 19-1/2, and his creatinine read as 4 which in many opinions is high enough to administer sub-qs. BUN was 65 which would be logical since when creatinine goes up, so does the BUN. But please discern why the creatinine is high to begin with. Jake's other numbers were in the normal range, and he was not dehydrated or showing any symptoms of kidney failure. He was and is eating well and gaining weight which is good since he lost a lot when he had active diabetes (he has been in remission for about 16 months now). So the vet and I decided not to do sub-qs because we assumed it was either a lab error or some kind of a fluke. He just got another (three months later) senior/renal profile and creatinine is 2.7 (just above normal range). I was not surprised, and am so glad we did not treat!!!!! My guess it was either a lab error or a possible, acute (short-term) pancreatic flareup (as a residual from active diabetes) that was present at the time of the first test and since resolved. Check stuff more than once if things just don't make sense.

Judy & Jake

 

[BJM]

Measurement is not nearly as precise as most folks assume. Note the shock when 2 successive glucometer results are more than a couple points different!

Typically, a device will have some documentation about its

precision - its accuracy to what level (tens? tenths?)
validity - it measures what it is supposed to measure - more of an issue in social sciences (intelligence is what an intelligence test measures!)
reliability - it will get the same result for the same 'true' value under the same conditions
standard error of measurement - the band of values in which the 'true' value lies; small is good

And also remember that renal values don't change until roughly 3/4 of the function is already gone - so if the risk is there, based on the age and other health issues of the animal, subcutaneous fluids may be worth doing.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

What is the urine specific gravity? That is a very good indicator of kidney function before degradation show in the blood values. BUN is a poor indicator since a high protein diet results in a high Bun value.