Clinical and pathological features of protein-losing glomerular disease in the dog: a review of 137 cases (1985-1992).

Medical records of 137 dogs with protein-losing glomerular disease (PLGD) were evaluated. Cases with amyloidosis (23%) were more likely to be azotemic at presentation, with significantly greater proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia than those cases with glomerulonephritis (GN; 77%). The prognosis for all cases was poor, with a median survival time of just 28 days. The most common causes of death in cases with idiopathic disease were chronic renal failure (69.5%) or thromboembolic complications (22.2%). Progression of glomerular disease was unpredictable, with no apparent correlation between survival time and biochemical parameters at presentation.