Chronic Kidney Disease in Horses

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the horse may be divided by clinical and pathologic findings into two broad categories: primary glomerular disease (glomerulonephritis [GN]) and primary tubulointerstitial disease (chronic interstitial nephritis [CIN]). However, pathology in one portion of the nephron usually leads to altered function and eventual pathology in the entire nephron such that CRF is an irreversible disease process characterized by a progressive decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). More importantly, the rate of decline in GFR is variable in horses with CRF making the shortterm (months to a few years) prognosis guarded to favorable while the long-term prognosis remains poor. […]