Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Unusual blood test pattern linked to mast cell tumor in a dog
By Petterino, Claudio et al.·Published in Veterinary Record Case Reports·2026·Zoetis, Zoetis Virtual Laboratory Italy, Italy·View original on Crossref →
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Original publication title: Atypical scattergram of a canine peripheral blood sample on ProCyte Dx
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old spayed female fox terrier was brought to the vet after experiencing two episodes of partial seizures. Blood tests showed an unusual pattern that suggested the presence of mast cells, which led to further examination and a diagnosis of a mast cell tumor in her spleen. This type of tumor can be serious, but with the right treatment, the dog can receive appropriate care. It's important for pet owners to be aware of unusual blood test results and discuss them with their veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment options.
People also search for: dog seizures treatment · fox terrier mast cell tumor · unusual blood test results in dogs
Abstract
Abstract A 9‐year‐old, spayed, female fox terrier was presented to the veterinary clinic for two episodes of partial convulsions. On ProCyte Dx peripheral blood analysis, an atypical scattergram was associated with peripheral mastocytaemia that was confirmed on peripheral blood smear evaluation. This observation was suspicious for a visceral mast cell tumour that was confirmed on cytological evaluation of the spleen. Mastocytaemia is an uncommon haematological abnormality, and has been reported in a variety of conditions, both neoplastic and non‐neoplastic. On the scattergram, mast cells were to the right of the monocyte cloud, which was likely due to their granularity, large mononuclear size and the higher RNA/DNA content. To our best knowledge, mast cells are not included in the list of parameters of the ProCyte Dx analyser. Technicians, clinical pathologists and residents should be aware of this unusual scattergram pattern, which imposes the review of peripheral blood smear.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1002/vrc2.70450