Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
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J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. · Sep 2006
Evaluation of the association between microalbuminuria and the urine albumin-creatinine ratio and systemic disease in dogs.
To evaluate semiquantitative and quantitative assays for microalbuminuria and determination of the urine albumin-creatinine (UAC) ratio in detection of systemic disease in dogs without overt proteinuria. ⋯ Microalbuminuria was associated with underlying disease. The sensitivity and specificity of the semiquantitative microalbuminuria test for detection of systemic disease were superior to those of other tests. Microalbuminuria testing in conjunction with other screening procedures may increase diagnosis of subclinical disease, but a prospective study in which the predictive values of screening tests are evaluated, with and without microalbuminuria determination, is needed.