Effects of telmisartan on proteinuria and systolic blood pressure in dogs with chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Renal proteinuria is associated with promoted renal dysfunction and a shorter survival period in dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Renin angiotensin– aldosterone system inhibitors are primarily used to treat renal proteinuria. In this retrospective, open-label study, we aimed to evaluate the anti-proteinuric and anti-hypertensive effects of telmisartan (angiotensin II receptor blocker) in dogs with proteinuric CKD. A total of 28 dogs with proteinuric CKD were included in the study, all dogs received telmisartan 1 mg/kg q24h, PO. The urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPC), urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UAC) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased significantly after telmisartan administration (P < 0.05). The median rate of change in UPC, UAC and SBP at Day 120 were − 65.1%, −75.9% and − 9.7%. Ten dogs (36.7%) achieved UPC < 1.0 at Day 120, of which six dogs had UPC < 0.5. A reduction of UPC to ≥50% was achieved in 10 dogs (36%) at Day 45 and 17 dogs (61%) at Day 120. Seventeen dogs (61%) had hypertension at baseline, of which 10 dogs (59%) had SBP < 160 mmHg at Day 120. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance did not attribute the observed changes in SBP, UPC or UAC to feeding with a renal diet. In conclusion, telmisartan therapy provides anti-proteinuric and anti-hypertensive effects in dogs with proteinuric CKD.