Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Predicting hemangiosarcoma risk in dogs with sudden belly bleeding
By Schick, Ashley R et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary emergency and critical care (San Antonio, Tex. : 2001)·2019·Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Development and validation of a hemangiosarcoma likelihood prediction model in dogs presenting with spontaneous hemoabdomen: The HeLP score.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with unexplained bleeding in the abdomen (hemoabdomen) was studied to see how likely they were to have hemangiosarcoma, a type of cancer. Researchers developed a scoring system based on factors like the dog's weight, blood protein levels, platelet count, and chest X-ray results. They found that dogs with low scores had a 36% chance of having the cancer, while those with high scores had a 96% chance. This scoring system can help vets identify which dogs might need more urgent treatment for this serious condition.
People also search for: dog hemoabdomen symptoms · hemangiosarcoma risk factors in dogs · dog abdominal bleeding treatment
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To calculate a risk prediction model for hemangiosarcoma (HSA) diagnosis in dogs presenting with nontraumatic hemoabdomen. DESIGN: Retrospective multicenter observational cohort study enrolling dogs presented 2003-2016. SETTING: Five academic veterinary medical centers. ANIMALS: A total of 406 dogs with nontraumatic hemoabdomen as the presenting complaint that underwent surgical exploration or necropsy and received a histological diagnosis. Overall, 219 dogs from 3 centers provided the data for model construction, and 187 dogs from 2 centers provided the population for external validation. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The risk score was modeled on 4 predictors: bodyweight (P = 0.01), total plasma protein (P < 0.01), platelet count (P < 0.01), and thoracic radiograph findings (P = 0.02). The incidence of HSA diagnosis was 36%, 76%, and 96% in the low risk (≤40), medium risk (41-55), and high risk (>55) score groups, respectively. The risk score AUROC was 0.85 (95% CI 0.79-0.90) on the construction population, and 0.77 (95% CI 0.70-0.84) on the validation population. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of HSA diagnosis in dogs presenting with nontraumatic hemoabdomen could be predicted using a simple risk score, which could aid in identification and treatment of dogs at lower risk for this diagnosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30994972/