Urine metabolite values in fed and nonfed clinically normal beagles

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Canine Urology
• Metabolomics

Background:

• Calcium oxalate uroliths are a common canine health concern.
• Establishing normal canine urinary metabolite values is essential for diagnosis and treatment.
• Dietary influences on these metabolites are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine normal 24-hour urine metabolite excretion in Beagles.
• To investigate the impact of diet (fed vs. fasted) on urine analytes related to urolith formation.
• To identify sex-based differences in urinary metabolite excretion.

Main Methods:

• Collected 24-hour urine samples from 33 clinically normal Beagles.
• Analyzed urine metabolites during two conditions: standard diet consumption and food withdrawal.
• Utilized statistical analysis to compare metabolite excretion between conditions and sexes.

Main Results:

• Urinary excretion of calcium, uric acid, sodium, potassium, magnesium, ammonium, and hydrogen ions were significantly higher when dogs consumed food.
• Urinary phosphorus, oxalate, and citrate excretion showed no significant difference between fed and fasted states.
• Male dogs excreted more oxalate; females excreted more calcium when fasted. Males had higher uric acid excretion when fasted.

Conclusions:

• Dietary status significantly influences urinary excretion of key metabolites in normal dogs.
• These findings highlight the importance of considering diet when interpreting canine urine analyte concentrations.
• Understanding these variations is critical for managing canine urolithiasis.