Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood clotting problems in cats with liver disease
By Dircks, Brigitte et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2012·Small Animal Clinic, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Haemostatic abnormalities in cats with naturally occurring liver diseases.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with liver diseases showed significant changes in their blood clotting abilities. Out of 45 affected cats, nearly all had at least one abnormality in their blood tests, which can indicate issues with bleeding or clotting. For example, cats with inflammatory liver diseases often had high levels of a substance called D-dimer, while those with liver tumors frequently had low levels of a clotting factor called FXIII. These findings suggest that liver disease can lead to problems with blood clotting, which may require monitoring and treatment by a veterinarian to manage the risks of bleeding.
People also search for: cat liver disease symptoms · cat blood clotting problems · liver disease treatment in cats
Abstract
Alterations in the haemostatic system were characterized in cats with different naturally occurring liver diseases. The study looked at 44 healthy cats and 45 cats with different liver diseases confirmed histologically or cytologically (neoplasia, n=9; inflammation, n=12; hepatic lipidosis, n=13; other degenerative liver diseases, n=11). The following parameters were evaluated: platelet count; prothrombin time; activated partial thromboplastin time; thrombin time; factor (F) II, FV, FVII, FX, and FXIII activities; fibrinogen concentration; activities of antithrombin, protein C, plasminogen, and α(2)-plasmin inhibitor, and D-dimer concentration. In cats with liver diseases, 44/45 (98%) had one or more abnormalities of the coagulation parameters measured. In cats with inflammatory liver diseases, increased D-dimer concentrations and decreased FXIII activity were the most consistent abnormalities and were found in 83% and 75% of cats, respectively. The most common abnormality in cats with neoplastic liver disease was FXIII deficiency (78%). The most consistent abnormalities in cats with hepatic lipidosis were increased FV activity and D-dimer concentration with 54% of cats having values above the reference range for both parameters. Cats with miscellaneous degenerative liver disease most frequently showed FXIII deficiency (64%). The results of this study show that alterations of single haemostatic components are a frequent finding in cats with liver disease. Activation of haemostasis with subsequent consumptive coagulopathy (rather than decreased synthesis) seems to be responsible for these alterations. Increased blood levels of different haemostatic components in cats with inflammatory lesions may be related to an acute phase reaction.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22075256/