Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood and chemistry changes in dogs with Angiostrongylus vasorum
By Willesen, Jakob L et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2009·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Haematological and biochemical changes in dogs naturally infected with Angiostrongylus vasorum before and after treatment.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 48 dogs naturally infected with a lungworm called Angiostrongylus vasorum were studied to see how their blood changed before and after treatment. Some dogs showed signs of inflammation in their blood, even if their blood tests looked normal. After 42 days of treatment, the dogs had lower white blood cell counts and other blood markers returned to normal levels. This suggests that even if blood tests don't show clear problems, a lungworm infection could still be present. The dogs improved with treatment, highlighting the importance of considering this infection even with normal blood results.
People also search for: dog lungworm infection symptoms · Angiostrongylus vasorum treatment · dog blood test results explained
Abstract
Haematological and biochemical parameters were studied prospectively in 48 dogs naturally infected with Angiostrongylus vasorum in a primary care setting. Samples for analysis were obtained when treatment was started and 42days afterwards. Prior to treatment, 21% of affected dogs exhibited eosinophilia, whereas increased total white blood cell (WBC) counts and neutrophilia were observed in only 4.2%. WBC counts and concentrations of neutrophils, eosinophils and monocytes decreased significantly from days 0 to 42, indicating that, even in dogs without elevated absolute blood values, a low grade inflammatory response may be present in dogs with A. vasorum infection. Biochemical changes (especially an increase in serum globulins and a decrease in serum fructosamine) were in agreement with the findings of other studies. The results show that the diagnosis of canine angiostrongylosis should not be excluded based on unremarkable haematological and blood biochemical parameters. They also support our recent finding that a low serum fructosamine concentration may be associated with infection with A. vasorum.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18083051/