Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with anemia not improving found to have Bartonella henselae
By Randell, Martin G et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2018·Somers Animal Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Bartonella henselae infection in a dog with recalcitrant ineffective erythropoiesis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old male Labrador Retriever was brought in because he had persistent anemia, meaning his body wasn't making enough healthy red blood cells. Initially, the vet tried treating him with medications to suppress his immune system, but this didn't help. After further testing, they discovered he had a bacterial infection caused by Bartonella henselae. Once they stopped the immunosuppressive treatment and started a long course of antibiotics, his anemia improved significantly.
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Abstract
Ineffective erythropoiesis was diagnosed in an 8-year-old male castrated Labrador Retriever. Despite treatment with immunosuppressive therapy for suspected immune-mediated erythrocyte maturation arrest, resolution of the nonregenerative anemia was not achieved. Following documentation of Bartonella henselae bacteremia by Bartonella alpha proteobacteria growth medium (BAPGM) enrichment blood culture, immunosuppressive therapy was discontinued, and the anemia resolved following prolonged antibiotic therapy. Bartonella immunofluorescent antibody testing was negative, whereas B henselae western blot was consistently positive. The contribution of B henselae bacteremia to ineffective erythropoiesis remains unknown; however, the potential role of B henselae in the pathophysiology of bone marrow dyscrasias warrants additional investigation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29393980/