Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Immune-mediated anemia in dogs long-term study results
By Weingart, C et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2019·Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Primary immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia: a retrospective long-term study in 61 dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with primary immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (pIMHA), a condition where the immune system attacks the dog's red blood cells, leading to severe anemia. The dog was treated with immunosuppressive medications, including prednisolone, and some dogs also received additional treatments like cyclosporine. While many dogs showed improvement and some were able to stop medication after several months, about 23% experienced a relapse of the disease, which could happen years later. Overall, the long-term outlook for dogs with pIMHA is generally positive, but owners should be aware of the possibility of relapses.
People also search for: dog anemia treatment · immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in dogs · signs of dog anemia · dog relapse after anemia treatment · pIMHA prognosis in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to describe the course of disease of dogs with primary immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (pIMHA) with an observation period longer than 90 days in regard to clinical signs, laboratory results and treatment response. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Clinical records between January 2003 and December 2011 were reviewed. Diagnosis of pIMHA was based on the presence of haemolytic anaemia with a packed cell volume of <0.35 L/L, a positive Coombs' test and/or erythrocyte agglutination, spherocytosis and exclusion of an underlying disease. Included were dogs which could be monitored for more than 90 days after initial presentation. RESULTS: Sixty-one dogs with pIMHA were included. The initial packed cell volume ranged from 0.08 to 0.30 L/L (median 0.16). Immunosuppressive treatment included prednisolone in all the cases; 32 dogs successively received cyclosporine (28), cyclophosphamide (5), leflunomide (2) or human intravenous immunoglobulins (2) in addition. In 33/61 dogs, the drugs were discontinued 67-3372 days (median 334) after beginning of therapy; in 28 dogs, the drug dosage was reduced, but not discontinued until the end of the study. Three dogs developed immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (days 132, 156 and 680). The observation period ranged from 96 to 4147 days (median 628). A total of 22.9% (14/61) of the dogs developed a relapse after 94-3972 days (median 517). Five dogs were euthanased due to a relapse after 96-1188 days (median 628). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Long-term prognosis in dogs with pIMHA is favourable. However, a relapse can occur after many years. Relapse was the most common cause of death in dogs with pIMHA that survive more than 90 days.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31454853/