My dog has high creatinine. What do SDMA kidney test results mean?

Question

Hi! Charlie had bloodwork done at a vet appointment yesterday. His creatinine level in one of his kidneys was showing a 2.4. Our vet ordered a test for him- SDMA (Symmetric dimethylarginine) – RefLab (ES) (Lab: IDEXX), which I we won't get results back for a few days. Charlie is only 3 years old, healthy for the most part, and not showing any symptoms of any sort of kidney failure. My question is... what are the best and worst case scenarios of the test result? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | 3 years and 2 months old | 78 lbs

Tomasz Wnuk · Accepted Answer

Creatinine level of 2.4mg/dL means mild to moderate elevation. Creatinine level goes up with kidney diseases but it also can go up after a large, meaty meal or excessive excercise. Some dogs with a lot of muscle mass have naturally elevated creatinine, not related to kidney problems. SDMA test will confirm (or rule out) kidney disease in Charlie's case. Please, note that SDMA is not a better or more specific test that creatinine, it is just another blood test to check kidneys funcion. In the best case scenario, Charlie had elevation in creatinine because of aforementioned physiological conditions and his kidneys are ok. In the worse case scenerio, he has early stage of kidney disease and will be put on a special diet.

My dog has high creatinine. What do SDMA kidney test results mean?

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