Page 26 - Eclipse - Autumn/Winter 2023

CLINICAL NEWS

Sign-up to CLINICAL CONNECTIONS

Clinical Connections is our publication designed to support veterinary professionals in
practice by keeping them updated on our latest news and service developments. It is
published three times a year.

Find out more and subscribe at www.rvc.ac.uk/clinical-connections

A decade of extracorporeal therapy

en years ago the RVC began had died, despite expert veterinary care. infection (leptospirosis), causing acute
delivering extracorporeal Alba’s condition continued to deteriorate kidney failure and liver damage.
therapies for cats and dogs with in hospital and her urine production
Tkidney injury, immune-mediated decreased – a sign the kidneys were Despite starting antibiotic treatment and
supportive therapy, including diuretics, his
disease and certain toxicities. More shutting down. kidneys completely stopped producing urine
than 50 patients have since received Plasmapheresis had never been and the team was concerned he would
the advanced treatment, most of which attempted as a treatment for a dog with develop life-threatening complications.
would have died without it.
CRGV, but her owners were keen that all Dialysis was discussed with Marty’s
RVC Small Animal Referrals remains the treatments were considered. Using the owners and three dialysis sessions were
only veterinary centre in the UK to offer evidence-base from human medicine, performed over the following days. Marty
extracorporeal therapy. The machine uses where similar conditions can be helped started producing urine after the final
different filters, which allow removal of by TPE, Alba was treated with this novel session, which was a fabulous outcome
different sizes and types of molecules. therapy. She made a good recovery and for the team looking after him. His kidney
These molecules could be undesirable went on to become an active adult dog. values gradually returned to normal, and
substances or specific antibodies, which by discharge he had returned to his usual
can cause various auto-immune diseases. Marty’s case excitable temperament.
The treatment is called renal replacement A more recent patient was 10-week- The extracorporeal therapy equipment
therapy (a form of dialysis) when treating old Labrador Marty, who was referred was funded by the RVC’s registered
patients with acute kidney failure, and this year. He presented with a bacterial charity, the Animal Care Trust.
plasmapheresis or therapeutic plasma
exchange (TPE) when treating patients
with immune-mediated disease. Both
dialysis and plasmapheresis can be used
for the removal of toxins and drugs.
‘Alabama rot’ and Alba
In 2014 the team and equipment enabled
a breakthrough in the treatment of
cutaneous renal glomerular vasculopathy
(CRGV), dubbed ‘Alabama rot’ and ‘New
Forest syndrome’. A Labrador puppy
called Alba started developing wounds
over her body and acute kidney injury.
She was referred to RVC Emergency
and Critical Care clinicians, who became
concerned she was suffering from CRGV.
There were no documented cases of
dogs with this condition and severe renal Marty
failure surviving and dozens of dogs

26