Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Erythrocyte agglutination associated with heparin treatment in three horses.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1986
- Authors:
- Mahaffey, E A & Moore, J N
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Three horses that were hospitalized and receiving heparin, a medication often used to prevent blood clots, developed a condition where their red blood cells clumped together. This clumping made it look like they had fewer red blood cells than they actually did and caused their average red blood cell size to appear larger. When the researchers treated the blood samples with a substance called trypsin, it removed the clumping and corrected the blood cell counts. Similar issues have been seen in healthy horses treated with heparin, which can sometimes be mistaken for more serious blood conditions. Overall, the treatment to resolve the clumping was effective.
Abstract
In vitro erythrocyte agglutination developed in 3 hospitalized horses receiving heparin treatment. The agglutination caused artifactual decreases in erythrocyte counts and increases in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values. Treatment of cell suspensions with trypsin eliminated the agglutination and the changes in erythrocyte count and MCV. Similar abnormalities in erythrocyte counts and MCV have been reported in healthy horses treated with heparin and have been cited as evidence of hemolysis and regenerative anemia.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3804846/