Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Red blood cell width in dogs with heart valve disease
By Guglielmini, Carlo et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2013·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Red blood cell distribution width in dogs with chronic degenerative valvular disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with chronic degenerative valvular disease (CDVD), a common heart condition, were evaluated to see if their red blood cell distribution width (RDW) could indicate the severity of their heart failure. The study included 135 dogs with CDVD, some showing signs of heart failure while others did not, and compared them to 27 healthy dogs. The results showed that RDW levels were similar between healthy dogs and those with CDVD, regardless of whether they had compensated or decompensated heart failure. This suggests that RDW may not be a useful marker for assessing heart failure in dogs with this condition.
People also search for: dog heart disease symptoms · chronic degenerative valvular disease in dogs · dog blood test results explained
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate RBC distribution width (RDW) in dogs with chronic degenerative valvular disease (CDVD) with compensated or decompensated heart failure. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. ANIMALS: 27 healthy dogs and 135 dogs with CDVD (87 dogs with compensated heart failure and 48 dogs with decompensated heart failure). PROCEDURES: The RDW and various CBC and serum biochemical variables were compared among groups. Correlations between RDW and various echocardiographic variables were evaluated. RESULTS: Mean ± SD RDW in dogs with CDVD (13.1% ± 1.0%) was not significantly different from that of healthy dogs (12.8% ± 0.8%). The RDW of dogs with CDVD and compensated heart failure (13.0% ± 1.0%) was not significantly different from that of dogs with CDVD and decompensated heart failure (13.2% ± 1.1%). The RDW had a significant, weak, negative correlation with Hct (correlation coefficient, -0.250), hemoglobin concentration (correlation coefficient, -0.219), and mean corpuscular volume (correlation coefficient, -0.211). The RDW had a significant, weak, positive correlation with 1 echocardiographic index of CDVD severity (ie, the left atrium-to-aorta ratio [correlation coefficient, 0.183]). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In this study population, RDW did not seem to be associated with the presence of heart failure or CDVD.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24004234/