Why are my dog's kidney tests confusing: BUN down, Creatinine up?

Question

Hi! Few weeks ago vet detected early stages of renal failure. In the first lab test BUN was very elevated and CREA was 2.0 now that we went back today CREA went up to 2.5 but BUN lowered to 26 so vet said her kidneys weren’t failing just yet. I am confused as to why her bun is now low but CREA went higher. Can this mean her kidneys are getting worse although vet said she was getting better? Will go back in 4 weeks to check. Her Alkaline phosphatase was also elevated can this be causing high CREA. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | 31 lbs

Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA · Accepted Answer

This is a bit of a confusing change in kidney values, but Creatinine is a little more specific for kidney disease, and is the value that is used for staging kidney disease (see link below). Some changes can happen based on hydration status. Elevations in alkaline phosphatase should affect creatinine. http://www.iris-kidney.com/pdf/IRIS_2017_Staging_of_CKD_09May18.pdf

Why are my dog's kidney tests confusing: BUN down, Creatinine up?

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