Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with unexplained low platelets causing bleeding signs
By Garon, C L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·1999·Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
An 11-year-old male domestic shorthair cat was brought to the vet because he was having blood in his urine and frequent urination. Tests showed he had a low platelet count, which can lead to bleeding problems. The vet suspected an immune issue since they couldn't find a clear cause for the low platelets. They treated him with prednisone and cyclosporine, and his platelet levels seemed to improve with these medications. While the exact cause of his condition remains unclear, the treatment helped manage his symptoms.
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Abstract
An 11-year-old, castrated, male domestic shorthair cat was presented for hematuria and pollakiuria. The cat had a marked thrombocytopenia, and a bone-marrow core biopsy demonstrated megakaryocytic hyperplasia with many megakaryocyte-associated neutrophils (i.e., emperipolesis). On peripheral blood, collected at initial presentation, what appeared to be platelets were noted to be within or adherent to occasional neutrophils. The thrombocytopenia was idiopathic in that no definitive cause could be found. However, platelet concentrations appeared to increase and decrease in response to changes in prednisone and cyclosporine therapy, suggesting a possible immune-mediated pathogenesis. As tests to detect increased feline platelet-associated antibodies are unavailable, immune-mediated thrombocytopenia can only be tentatively diagnosed in cats by exclusion and response to therapy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10580904/