Como citar APA:

Monterrosa-Molina, P., et al. (2024) Analysis of veterinary health

situations in domestic animals. Repique, 6(2), 59-73

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Crystalluria is a disease that is currently present in more than 50% of

the cat and dog population, causing urinary elimination dysfunction

and therefore clinical signs related to toxin retention. The following

study evaluated the presence of crystalluria in dogs and cats without

results obtained allowed us to conclude that more than 55% of the

dogs and cats present crystals, the most frequent types of crystals

were amorphous urate and struvite. It is important to keep in mind

that periodic evaluations allow us to reach a diagnosis in pathologies

that affect the urinary system in order to improve the quality of life of

our patients.

Key words:

* Mgs. Universidad Agraria del Ecuador, mchacon@uagraria.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0009-0003-

La cristaluria es una enfermedad que se presenta actualmente en

edades, sexos e índice corporal (IC). Las muestras fueron extraídas

por medio de la técnica de cistocentesis, luego de esto y mediante

la técnica del uroanálisis se identificó las características

macroscópicas y microscópicas de la orina recolectada. Los

resultados obtenidos nos permitieron concluir que más del 55% de

los perros y gatos presentan cristales, los tipos de cristales más

frecuentes fueron los uratos amorfos y la estruvita. Es importante

tener en cuenta que las evaluaciones periódicas nos permiten llegar

al diagnóstico en patologías que afectan al aparato urinario para

mejorar la calidad de vida de nuestros pacientes.

The urinary system has important physiological functions such as

the excretion of waste substances, as well as the regulation of water

balance (Marroquín Salcedo & Granados Férnandez, 2021).

Crystals in urine have a relationship with poor nutrition, metabolic

problems or urinary diseases, these can be of acute or chronic

union of several anatomical, behavioral and nutritional factors,

which can sometimes be identified and corrected in time (Ayala-

The diagnosis of crystalluria has increased over the years having as

more evident clinical signs the presentation of irritation in the area

that generates inflammation and discomfort, generally dysuria,

hematuria, stranguria, lethargy, abdominal distension and post-

renal azotemia are presented with higher incidence (Piyarungsri et

al., 2020).

In the case of dogs it not only affects the bladder, but also the

urethra and prostate with clinical signs such as stranguria,

pollakiuria, dysuria and hematuria (Rosas Martínez & García Zárate,

2017), commonly observed in daily clinic. Male dogs are the

bacterial urinary tract infections, urination abnormalities,

urolithiasis, prostate diseases, and problems due to trauma

(Mendoza López, 2015). In the literature it has been reported that

in American cities and in Mexico 80% of crystals found in canine

sediments are of the struvite type, in the United States we find that

18% suffer from diseases of the caudal urinary tract, while in Mexico

In the case of cats, crystalluria and urolithiasis is responsible for 10

to 23% of the cases of lower urinary tract diseases known as FLUTD

(Feline Low Urinary Tract Disease) (Tefft et al., 2021), presenting in

children under 10 years of age and approximately 10% of cats older

than 10 years (Castaño Jimenez & Londoño Espinosa, 2017),

similarly nephroliths can cause from obstructions at the level of the

ureteropelvic junction, traveling through the ureter until reaching

the kidney (Hsu et al., 2022). The formation of feline uroliths is

The present research work aimed to conduct a study to establish

the number of dogs and cats suffering from crystalluria using urine

samples, where the presence of crystals in the urinary sediment of

dogs and cats was determined by uroanalysis, to ensure an accurate

and rapid diagnosis to identify an ideal treatment.

Urine samples from 70 cats and 80 dogs attending veterinary

medical centers in Ecuador were evaluated. The selection of the

patients was randomized and the medical records were filled in with

the information provided by the guardians.

Cystocentesis and Uroanalysis

the area was shaved and antisepsis was performed (Figure 1). Once

the area from which the urine sample would be extracted was

prepared, the feline or canine was placed in the dorsal decubitus

position, then the transducer was placed to corroborate the

inserted at 45º in a caudal cranial direction through the ventral wall

to avoid trauma to the ureters and abdominal vessels and placed in

Echo-guided cystocentesis. 1-B Preparation of the

sample for centrifugation.

first evaluated, such as volume, transparency or turbidity, color and

odor. In the next step, the collected urine was centrifuged at

1500rpm for 5 minutes, the supernatant was removed from the

centrifuged sample and 50ul of the concentrate that remained at

the bottom of the tube was collected with a Pasteur pipette and

placed on a slide. Before observation under the microscope (Zeus)

Statistical design

The approach of this research was quantitative since urine samples

Smith, 2024).

Population of cats and dogs with the presence of crystalluria.

Figure 2 shows that, of the 80 samples analyzed in dogs, 44 positive

cases were found, equivalent to 55% presence of crystalluria in

dogs and 45% of cases without crystalluria. For the results of

crystalluria in cats, 34 positive cases were detected, representing

48.57%, and 51.43% did not contain crystalluria.

Presence of crystalluria in urine sediments of dogs and

cats evaluated in veterinary clinics in Ecuador.