An update to the 2007 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) consensus statement on the identification, evaluation, and management of systemic hypertension in dogs and cats was presented at the 2017 ACVIM Forum in National Harbor, MD. The updated consensus statement is presented here. The consensus statement aims to provide guidance on appropriate diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in dogs and cats.

Despite the relatively low concentrations of proteinuria typical of chronic renal disease in cats, this measurement is of prognostic significance.

Chronic kidney disease is common in geriatric cats, but most cases have nonspecific renal lesions, and few studies have correlated these lesions with clinicopathological markers of renal dysfunction. The aim of this study was to identify the lesions best correlated with renal function and likely mediators of disease progression in cats with chronic kidney disease. Cats were recruited through 2 first-opinion practices between 1992 and 2010. When postmortem examinations were authorized, renal tissues were preserved in formalin. Sections were evaluated by a pathologist masked to all clinicopathological data. They were scored semiquantitatively for the severity of glomerulosclerosis, interstitial inflammation, and fibrosis. Glomerular volume was measured using image analysis; the percentage of glomeruli that were obsolescent was recorded. Sections were assessed for hyperplastic arteriolosclerosis and tubular mineralization. Kidneys from 80 cats with plasma biochemical data from the last 2 months of life were included in the study. Multivariable linear regression (P < .05) was used to assess the association of lesions with clinicopathological data obtained close to death. Interstitial fibrosis was the lesion best correlated with the severity of azotemia, hyperphosphatemia, and anemia. Proteinuria was associated with interstitial fibrosis and glomerular hypertrophy, whereas higher time-averaged systolic blood pressure was associated with glomerulosclerosis and hyperplastic arteriolosclerosis.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common in geriatric cats, but often appears to be stable for long periods of time.Objectives: To describe CKD progression and identify risk factors for progression in newly diagnosed azotemic cats. Animals: A total of 213 cats with CKD (plasma creatinine concentration > 2 mg/dL, urine specific gravity < 1.035) were followed up until progression occurred or for at least 1 year; 132, 73, and 8 cats were in International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) stages 2, 3, and 4, respectively.Methods: Progression was defined as a 25% increase in plasma creatinine concentration. Logistic regression was used to assess variables at diagnosis that were associated with progression within 1 year. Changes in IRIS stage during followup also were described. Cases that remained in stages 2 or 3, but did not have renal function assessed in the last 60 days of life, were excluded from analysis of the proportion reaching stage 4.Results: Of the cats, 47% (101) progressed within 1 year of diagnosis. High plasma phosphate concentration and high urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPC) predicted progression in all cats. Low PCV and high UPC independently predicted progression in stage 2 cats, whereas higher plasma phosphate concentration predicted progression in stage 3 cats; 19% (18/94) of cats diagnosed in stage 2; and 63% (34/54) of cats diagnosed in stage 3 reached stage 4 before they died.Conclusions: Proteinuria, anemia, and hyperphosphatemia may reflect more progressive kidney disease. Alternatively, they may be markers for mechanisms of progression such as tubular protein overload, hypoxia, and nephrocalcinosis.

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) is a phosphaturic hormone involved in the pathogenesis of secondary renal hyperparathyroidism (SRHP) in humans. There are no published studies examining feline FGF-23.Objectives: Validation of a method for FGF-23 quantification in feline plasma and assessment of the associations among plasma FGF-23, PTH, creatinine, and phosphate concentrations in cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Animals: One hundred nonazotemic and azotemic geriatric (>9 years) client-owned cats. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study: Cats were categorized into 4 groups: control group (plasma creatinine (Cr) 2.0 mg/dL), stage 2 (Cr 2.1-2.8 mg/dL), stage 3 (Cr 2.9-5.0 mg/dL), stage 4 (Cr >5.0 mg/dL). Stages 2 and 3 were further subdivided based on International Renal Interest Society targets for plasma phosphate concentration (PO 4 ): stage 2a (PO 4 4.5 mg/dL), stage 2b (PO 4 >4.5 mg/dL), stage 3a (PO 4 5 mg/dL), stage 3b (PO 4 >5 mg/dL). Plasma FGF-23 concentrations were measured by a human intact FGF-23 ELISA. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were performed.Results: The ELISA demonstrated acceptable precision, reproducibility, and specificity. Plasma FGF-23 concentrations increased with increasing plasma creatinine concentrations and were significantly different between all groups (P < .008). Plasma FGF-23 concentrations were significantly higher in cats in stage 2b than stage 2a (P = .008) and in stage 3b than in stage 3a (P = .012). Phosphate, log creatinine, total calcium, log parathyroid hormone, and packed cell volume were all independent predictors of FGF-23.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: FGF-23 concentrations increase with increasing stage of feline CKD and might be a marker or mediator of feline SRHP.