UC Davis

Background

Renal infarcts identified without definitive association with any specific disease process.

Objective

Determine diseases associated with diagnosis of renal infarcts in cats diagnosed by sonography or necropsy.

Animals

600 cats underwent abdominal ultrasonography, necropsy, or both at a veterinary medical teaching hospital.

Methods

Information obtained from electronic medical records. Cats classified as having renal infarct present based on results of sonographic evaluation or necropsy. Time-matched case-controls selected from cats that underwent the next scheduled diagnostic procedure.

Results

309 of 600 cats having diagnosis of renal infarct and 291 time-matched controls. Cats 7-14 years old were 1.6 times (odds ratio, 95% CI: 1.03-2.05, P = .03) more likely to have renal infarct than younger cats but no more likely to have renal infarct than older cats (1.4, 0.89-2.25, P = .14). All P = .14 are statistically significant. Cats with renal infarcts were 4.5 times (odds ratio, 95% CI: 2.63-7.68, P < .001) more likely to have HCM compared to cats without renal infarcts. Cats with renal infarcts were 0.7 times (odds ratio, 95% CI: 0.51-0.99, P = .046) less likely to have diagnosis of neoplasia compared to cats without renal infarcts. Cats with diagnosis of hyperthyroidism did not have significant association with having renal infarct. Cats with renal infarcts were 8 times (odds ratio, 95% CI: 2.55-25.40, P ≤ .001) more likely to have diagnosis of distal aortic thromboembolism than cats without renal infarcts.

Conclusions and clinical importance

Cats with renal infarcts identified on antemortem examination should be screened for occult cardiomyopathy.