Objective: To determine clinical signs and clinicopathologic abnormalities in Greyhounds with cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy and to determine whether there were any differences between dogs with and without renal azotemia.
Design: Retrospective study.
Animals: 18 Greyhounds.
Procedure: Results of CBC, serum biochemical analyses, urinalyses, coagulation tests, tests of RBC morphology, bacterial culture of blood samples, and serologic tests for Rickettsia rickettsii, Ehrlichia canis, E platys, and Leptospira interrogans were reviewed. Glomerular filtration rates and urine protein:creatinine ratios were determined in most dogs. t-Tests and a test of equality of proportions were used to compare dogs that developed renal azotemia with dogs that did not.
Results: None of the dogs was bacteremic or had serologic evidence of infectious disease. Ten dogs had renal azotemia, 16 had anemia, 11 had hypoalbuminemia, and 18 developed thrombocytopenia. Compared with dogs without renal azotemia, dogs with renal azotemia had significantly lower mean platelet count, hematocrit, and serum albumin concentration and significantly higher mean neutrophil count and creatine kinase activity. All 10 dogs with renal azotemia died or were euthanatized; 7 of 8 dogs without azotemia survived.
Clinical implications: Greyhounds with cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy that developed renal azotemia had evidence of more severe systemic disease than did dogs that did not have azotemia and, despite supportive treatment, had a poorer prognosis.