"Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is considered the single most useful and most sensitive test of renal function overall." Indeed any decrease in GFR generally means that kidney disease is occurring or progressing. Assessment of GFR is therefore pivotal in evaluation of the severity and progression of renal diseases, especially chronic kidney diseases (CKD). In humans, GFR is used to stratify patients into five stages according to the CKD classification of the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF KDOQI ). In small animal medicine, the staging proposed by the International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) is currently based on basal plasma creatinine, but the IRIS board considers that in the future, GFR measurementcould be the major criterion for staging, as in humans. Methods for GFR evaluation in dogs and cats were validated between the beginning of the 1980s and the early 2000s. Plasma clearance methods were developed as alternatives to urinary clearance methods and clearly offer new perspectives in clinical nephrology. Some recent developments, potential issues and current challenges regarding GFR measurements using plasma clearance methods will be reviewed here.
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