Proteinuria in Dogs with Gallbladder Mucoceles | VETgirl Veterinary Continuing Education Podcasts
In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we will discuss proteinuria in dogs with gallbladder mucoceles (GBMs). Lindaberry et al from NCSU wanted to evaluate this in a study entitled "Proteinuria in dogs with gallbladder mucocele formation: A retrospective case control study." In this study, the authors tackled an important first step in answering such questions. The primary objective of this study was to determine if GBM formation or specific clinicopathologic comorbidities were associated with proteinuria in dogs. This was a retrospective case-control study; dogs in the current study had been previously enrolled in a separate case-control study at NCSU involving GBMs. Those dogs had been recruited prospectively between 2014 and 2017 after being diagnosed with a GBM via ultrasonography, and if the pup had surgery or was euthanized, gross and histopathology reports were used to confirm the diagnosis. The medical records from these cases were reviewed for inclusion in the present study, which required that dogs had a CBC, serum biochemical profile, and urinalysis within a month of the ultrasound. Healthy controls also had these diagnostics performed, as well as a focal hepatobiliary ultrasound. All dogs also had an ACTH stimulation test and thyroid panel (consisting of T4, free T4, TSH, T4AA, T3AA, TgAA) performed. When dogs were initially recruited for the previous study, they were excluded if they had treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid, topical or systemic corticosteroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anticonvulsants, furosemide, sulfa-containing drugs, or fatty acid supplements within 2 months. Reproductively intact dogs or those with clinical signs suggestive of an endocrinopathy were also excluded.