September 9, 2014
Categories: Research, Using Data and Statistics

Today’s Veterinary Practice and Banfield Pet Hospital have partnered to publish the data garnered by Banfield Applied Research and Knowledge (BARK), based on veterinary records from its 850 hospitals and 2.4 million pets treated each year.

How many cats get kidney disease? How many dogs are treated for separation anxiety? Is dental disease common or uncommon in pet cats and dogs?

Today's Veterinary Practice and Banfield Pet Hospital have partnered to publish the data garnered by Banfield Applied Research and Knowledge (BARK), based on veterinary records from its 850 hospitals and 2.4 million pets treated each year.

For example, the numbers on kidney disease look like this:

Of all the pets presented to Banfield Pet Hospitals in 2012:

  • A diagnosis of kidney disease (acute or chronic) was made in 2% of cats and only 0.3% of dogs.
  • In patients over 10 years of age, approximately 1 in every 12 cats (7.8%) and 1 in every 67 dogs (1.5%) were diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
  • Median serum creatinine concentrations in cats and dogs diagnosed with CKD were 3.2 mg/dL and 2.6 mg/dL, respectively.

Path to Pet Wellness: Although the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) is unknown, previously published estimates of CKD incidence in the general population of dogs and cats have been around 0.5% to 1.5%.1,2 However, 1 recent study demonstrated that 30% of geriatric cats developed azotemia over the course of 1 year,3 suggesting that CKD is likely more common than realized. The difference between prevalence and diagnostic data highlights how CKD may be overlooked due to absent or mild clinical signs. To enhance detection of renal disease, routine blood analysis and urinalysis should be performed, particularly in apparently healthy geriatric pets.—JD Foster, VMD, Diplomate ACVIM

Read more:

Kidney and Periodontal Diseases

Infectious Repiratory and Canine Cranial Cruciate Diseases

Diabetes and Seizures

Canine Behavior