Are there Predictors of Post-Treatment Renal Failure?
Despite the recommendation of some experts, there is no strong evidence to support the notion that cats with urine specific gravity measurements about 1.035 are not at risk for renal insufficiency following treatment of hyperthyroidism, but it is unknown whether there are other predictors. Our group has examined many cases of post-treatment renal failure looking for pre-treatment predictors, and we have not been able to find anything that can predict renal failure. Investigators have reported that pre-treatment GFR measurement may be useful as a predictor of post-treatment renal status in hyperthyroid cats (Adams et al. 1997). In one report cats that underwent treatment for hyperthyroidism and did not develop renal insufficiency all had pre-treatment GFR measurements of greater than 2.25 ml/kg/min. The authors concluded that pre-treatment GFR was a valuable predictor of post-treatment renal insufficiency. We looked back at our original published reports of GFR in cats with hyperthyroid
