Anti-Xa blood test helps monitor dalteparin in critically ill dogs

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe a population of critically ill dogs receiving dalteparin monitored with an anti-Xa assay, to assess the potential utility of serial monitoring, and to investigate the association between pre-treatment thromboelastography (TEG) and the ability to achieve targeted anti-Xa activity. DESIGN: Descriptive retrospective study. SETTING: Veterinary teaching hospital. ANIMALS: Thirty-eight client-owned dogs receiving dalteparin and monitored with an anti-Xa assay. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for signalment, underlying disease, clinicopathological data, occurrence of thromboembolic events, complications, and outcome. Thirty-eight dogs receiving dalteparin were monitored with an anti-Xa assay. Diseases included hematological disease, protein-losing disease, neoplastic disease, and septic processes. Pretreatment hypercoagulability was present in 34/35 dogs by assessment of TEG. Five cases of thromboembolism were confirmed prior to starting treatment and 4 cases occurred during hospitalization. Bleeding complications were rare (3/38) and 29/38 dogs survived to discharge. Interpretation of the anti-Xa assay allowed for dose adjustment although reliable achievement of target anti-Xa activity was not demonstrated. Dogs with higher G values on pretreatment TEG were significantly less likely to achieve the target anti-Xa activity (ie, be above or below the target range). CONCLUSIONS: Dalteparin was well tolerated in a heterogeneous population of dogs. However, dose adjustment in response to anti-Xa activity interpretation inconsistently resulted in subsequent attainment of the target anti-Xa range. Development of guidelines may be warranted to more consistently achieve the target range. Dogs that appear more hypercoagulable on pre-treatment TEG may require closer monitoring and greater dose adjustment to achieve the target anti-Xa range.