Hyperthyroidism and chronic Kidney failure (CKD) are common diseases in older cats. It can be difficult to evaluate Kidney function in cats suffering from both conditions simultaneously. In the daily clinic serum creatinine is the analysis of choice when evaluating Kidney function and secondary glomerular filtration rate (GFR). This marker does not, however, detect Kidney damage until about 75 % of the function is lost. There are several other techniques available when investigating GFR but none are readily available for the small clinic.

Background: There are many people waiting for a Kidney transplant. To get a Kidney from a living donor has many advantages. The gift is about giving and receiving. The decision is characterized by life-philosophy of the donor.Aim: To highlight the experiences of the Kidney donation process.Methods: A systematic literature review in which 11 articles were included, seven qualitative and four quantitative. The articles are quality and ethically reviewed, the results are analyzed according Granskär & Höglund and Polit & Beck.Results: The results were gathered under two themes: the decision-process shows the path from idea to decision and implementation-process treats the donation and confirmation of the gift.

Kronisk njursvikt ökar varje år och vid terminal njurinsufficiens ses njurtransplantation som förstaval av behandling. Behovet av donerade njurar är större än tillgången, vilket leder till en lång väntan för individen. Studiens syfte var att beskriva individers upplevelser i väntan på en njurtransplantation. Metoden var en litteraturstudien där tio vetenskapliga artiklar granskades och analyserades. I analysen framkom tre teman som utgjorde resultatet: behandling för att överleva där dialysbehandlingen sågs som en begränsning i livet och gjorde det svårt att leva som dem gjort tidigare, känna hopp där en transplantation var något att hoppas på, ett sätt att ta sig ur dialysen och få tillbaka sitt gamla liv, samt känna hopplöshet där rädsla för att njurtransplantationen aldrig skulle bli av och känslor av att vara på is i väntan uppkom.

Ultrasound is a diagnostic aid often overlooked by the veterinary practicioner who works with farm-animals. However, it?s use increases, particulary for breeders where ultrasound has long been used to evaluate ovaries and to diagnose pregnancy or disturbances in reproduction. There is much knowledge in how to examine ovaries and uterus by transrectal ultrasound, but when it comes to doing ultrasound of other organs in the abdomen the knowledge is more limited. Cows are very large animals, so it is not possible to examine everything inside the abdomen with ultrasound, simply because the ultrasound beam has a limited penetration. There is also lots of gas inside the gastro-intestinal tract of a cow, mainly in the large intestine and the rumen, and that makes it impossible to examine the organs behind the gas since the ultrasound waves are reflected when reaching the soft tissue-gas interface.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur personer med egenadministrerad peritonealdialys (PD) upplever sitt dagliga liv. Metoden var en intervjustudie där sju personer som behandlades med PD intervjuades med hjälp av en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Materialet som analyserades med en manifest kvalitativ innehållsanalys resulterade i tre huvudkategorier: kroppsliga förändringar, upplevelser av PD-behandling samt egenvård. Resultatet visade att PD hade inverkan på olika plan i informanternas dagliga liv. Ett viktigt fynd var hur informanterna uppfattade att PD hade lett till vissa kroppsliga förändringar, exempelvis vad gäller vikt och aptit.

Bakgrund: Antalet patienter i behov av njurtransplantation per år är cirka 400-500, varav endast cirka 350 kommer att bli transplanterade. Bristen på organ är tydligt framträdande. I väntan på transplantation behöver patienten dialysbehandling, vilket ofta upplevs vara tidskrävande och utmattande. Sjuksköterskor bör ha kunskap om patienters upplevelser i samband med väntan på transplantation för att kunna utvecklas i sin roll som sjuksköterska och få en djupare förståelse för deras situation.Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva kroniskt njursjuka patienters upplevelser av att leva med dialysbehandling och väntan på transplantation.Metod: Studien är en litteratursammanställning av tio kvalitativa och kvantitativa vetenskapliga artiklar inom området, vilka har granskats, analyserats och sammanställts.Resultat: I resultatet framkom flera olika upplevelser, så som längtan efter frihet, utmattning, höga förväntningar, frustration och rädsla inför framtiden i samband med dialysbehandlingen och väntan på transplantationen.Slutsats: Kroniskt njursjuka patienters upplever sin situation som psykiskt, fysiskt och socialt påfrestande. En av sjuksköterskans viktigaste uppgifter i samband med bemötandet av patienter under dialysbehandling är att vara tillgänglig.

Under åren 2005-2010 utförde en forskargrupp från Colorado State University studier på vaccinerade katter och fann att katter utvecklade antikroppar mot sina egna njurar efter vaccination med vanligt förekommande basvaccin mot parvovirus, calicivirus och herpesvirus. Virus till vaccinen är odlade på en celllinje från kattnjurar och går under benämningen Crandell Rees Feline Kidney. Antikropparna riktade sig mot antigen identifierade som annexin II och ?-enolas och man såg tecken på interstitiell nefrit hos 50 % av katter som hyperinokulerats med Crandell Rees Feline Kidney. Hos människa och mus har antikroppar mot ?-enolas och annexin II kopplats till autoimmuna sjukdomar och då framförallt immunologiska reaktioner mot njurcellerna.

This report describes the nutritional requirements of the dog and cat. You are also able to learn about the most common diseases in the dog and cat where food has an important role in both prevention and recovery of these diseases. We describe FLUTD, canine urolithiasis, heart- and Kidney disease, gastrointestinal diseases and obesity. You have to know the right balance between different nutrients to decrease the stress on the body and to prevent the advancement of the diseases. Finally we discuss the differences between three manufacturers of veterinary prescribed diets and two commercial pet foods..

Det finns lite forskning om livskvalitet hos patienter med kronisk njursvikt som ännu inte startat i dialysbehandling och det är viktigt att ha kunskap om hur livskvaliteten påverkas hos dessa patienter. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa olika faktorers påverkan på livskvaliteten hos patienter med kronisk njursvikt som inte startat i dialys. I studien har 16 vetenskapliga artiklar granskats och analyserats. I resultatet framkom att Hb-nivå, nutrition, sjukdomens svårighetsgrad och komorbiditet var faktorer som kunde påverka livskvaliteten. Även patienters upplevelser av antal och svårighetsgrad av symtom var påverkande faktorer.

The aim of the project was to investigate if Swedish rodents, brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), house mouse (Mus musculus), wood mouse (Apodemus spp) and water vole (Arvicola terrestris) captured in pig herds and in urban areas, constitute a reservoir for pathogenic Leptospira spp. Under Swedish conditions leptospirosis gives rise to reproductive disorders in pigs and symptoms of flu in humans. It has long been established that rodents are chronic carriers of pathogenic leptospires in their Kidneys, and can spread the bacteria with urine. The old nomenclature of serovoars is still in use, but a new system of genetic classification has developed and today the genus Leptospira contains 17 species. There are several diagnostic test developed for leptospirosis.

The aim of the project was to investigate if Swedish rodents, brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), house mouse (Mus musculus), wood mouse (Apodemus spp) and water vole (Arvicola terrestris) captured in pig herds and in urban areas, constitute a reservoir for pathogenic Leptospira spp. Under Swedish conditions leptospirosis gives rise to reproductive disorders in pigs and symptoms of flu in humans. It has long been established that rodents are chronic carriers of pathogenic leptospires in their Kidneys, and can spread the bacteria with urine. The old nomenclature of serovoars is still in use, but a new system of genetic classification has developed and today the genus Leptospira contains 17 species. There are several diagnostic test developed for leptospirosis.

The aim of the project was to investigate if Swedish rodents, brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), house mouse (Mus musculus), wood mouse (Apodemus spp) and water vole (Arvicola terrestris) captured in pig herds and in urban areas, constitute a reservoir for pathogenic Leptospira spp. Under Swedish conditions leptospirosis gives rise to reproductive disorders in pigs and symptoms of flu in humans. It has long been established that rodents are chronic carriers of pathogenic leptospires in their Kidneys, and can spread the bacteria with urine. The old nomenclature of serovoars is still in use, but a new system of genetic classification has developed and today the genus Leptospira contains 17 species. There are several diagnostic test developed for leptospirosis.

Both serum creatinine and measuring GFR can be used to evaluate renal function in dogs suspected to have chronic Kidney disease (CKD). Although high creatinine levels usually indicate renal disease, normal creatinine levels can be present in dogs with decreased renal filtration. Measuring GFR is generally believed to be the most accurate way of detecting decreased renal filtration and scintigraphy GFR using 99mTc-DTPA has been found to correlate well with the ?gold standard? inulin clearance method.When measuring GFR by scintigraphy, 99mTc-DTPA is injected intravenously and radioactive decay of technetium gives rise to gamma radiation, which is registered by a gamma camera. Pictures and curves of radioactivity in the Kidneys are generated by means of a computer program.

Renal dysplasia in dogs is a severe Kidney disease that causes great suffering for the affected individual. The disease disturbs the development of the Kidneys which leads to an immature microscopic structure of the Kidney and smaller Kidneys than normal. A dog with renal dysplasia only lives between 4 and 24 months, because of Kidney failure. There are different ways to establish a diagnosis, but the most common way today is to take a renal biopsy. In a scientific study, ultrasound based diagnosis was shown to match the histopathological picture of the disease.

Each year, 800 people wait for an organ transplant in Sweden. The development of drugs for organ rejection has evolved over the past 60 years, which has increased the survival of patients who have undergone organ transplantation. The most common organ transplanted is the Kidney, liver, lung and heart. There are more studies done on quality of life after an organ transplant, but very few studies on quality of life before organ transplantation.The aim of the study was to describe the experiences of quality of life among patients waiting for an organ transplant.A literature overview of eight articles was analyzed in both similarities and differences. The articles were published between 2002 and 2012.The result is presented in four themes, hope of life, living in uncertainty, the body fails and need for support.