BackgroundHydroxyethyl starch (HES) solutions may cause acute kidney injury (AKI) in humans.ObjectiveTo compare AKI grades in 94 dogs exposed and 90 dogs that were unexposed to 6% HES‐130/0.4.AnimalsDogs receiving 6% HES‐130/0.4 (HES cohort) or crystalloids (unexposed cohort) between 2013 and 2015.MethodsHistorical cohort study. Diagnosis, total cumulative dose and total mL/kg of HES administered, time frame of HES administration and serum creatinine concentrations up to 90 days after initiation of HES treatment were retrospectively reviewed. The AKI grades were retrospectively determined by IRIS guidelines.ResultsExposed dogs received a median cumulative dose of 69.4 mL/kg (range, 2–429 mL/kg) HES over a median of 4 (range, 1–16) days, resulting in a median dose of 20.7 (range, 2–87) mL/kg/d. Although the cohorts differed in terms of age and diagnosis, AKI grades were not significantly different at the evaluated short‐ and long‐term time points. Results of ordinal logistic regression identified the number of days of HES administration as significantly associated with an increase in AKI grade within 10 days (P = .038), whereas there was no significant association among HES exposure, HES mL/kg/d, and an increase in AKI grade.Conclusions and Clinical Importance HES‐130/0.4‐treated dogs were not more prone to develop AKI than HES‐untreated, but the number of HES days was significantly associated with an increase in AKI grade within 10 days post‐HES administration. The time frame of HES treatment should be kept short. Prospective, randomized clinical trials are required to assess the effect of HES on renal function in dogs.

BackgroundHydroxyethyl‐starch (HES) solutions might have renal adverse effects in humans and dogs.ObjectiveTo determine if administration of 6% HES‐130/0.4 is associated with an increase in serum creatinine concentration and development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in nonazotemic cats.AnimalsA total of 62 critically ill cats; 26 HES exposed and 36 unexposed.MethodsRetrospective cohort study (2012–2015). Serum creatinine concentrations were recorded and changes in serum creatinine concentrations before exposure (baseline) and 2–10 and 11–90 days, respectively, were determined. Development of AKI was defined as a > 150% increase or >26 μmol/L increase in serum creatinine concentration from baseline. Risk factors, such as HES administration, cumulative volume of HES (mL/kg) and number of days of HES administration leading to development of AKI, and change in serum creatinine were analyzed.ResultsCats in the HES cohort received a mean volume of 98.5 ± 76.2 mL/kg (range, 8–278 mL/kg) HES over a median of 4 (range, 1–11) days, resulting in a median dose of 20.1 (range, 8–40.5) mL/kg per day. Short‐term %change in serum creatinine concentration (P = 0.40) and development of AKI (P = 0.32) were not significantly different between cohorts. Multivariable logistic regression did not identify HES dose in mL/kg (P = 0.33) and number of days of HES application (P = 0.49) as a risk factor for development of AKI.Conclusion and Clinical ImportanceHydroxyethyl‐starch administration to critically ill nonazotemic cats seems to be safe. A larger prospective study is required to determine the effect of HES administration at higher dosages and for prolonged time periods.

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