Acute dehydration caused by a variety of diseases in horses can lead to acute kidney injury; however, current renal biomarkers usually indicate renal damage late in the course of the disease. A novel biomarker would be helpful to diagnose renal disease earlier. This prospective cohort study explored the correlation between SDMA and level of dehydration against traditional renal biomarkers, as well as its prognostic use as a biomarker of early renal injury.
The study was titled “Symmetric dimethylarginine and renal function analysis in horses with dehydration” and was authored by Lo, H-C; Winter, J.C.; Merle, R.; and Gehlen, H.
Serum SDMA, creatinine and urea concentrations and renal function analysis were measured in 41 horses with dehydration at four time points until 48 h after admission. Horses were grouped according to their dehydration level into mildly, moderately, and severely dehydrated groups.
Serum SDMA concentrations at admission correlated with creatinine concentrations (r = 0.412, P <0.001). Differences in SDMA concentrations at admission were detected among dehydration levels but not between survivors and non-survivors. Significant correlations of SDMA concentrations with other markers of renal function analysis and short-term outcome were not observed. Only one of the horses developed acute kidney injury, which made the evaluation of the predictive value of SDMA difficult.
Bottom Line: SDMA concentrations are correlated with creatinine concentrations in dehydrated horses. Use of SDMA as a prognostic biomarker warrants further research.
To read or access this research from the BEVA online library at Wiley.com click here.
