Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using reticulocyte tests to tell types of anemia in dogs
By Schaefer, Deanna M W & Stokol, Tracy·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2015·Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The utility of reticulocyte indices in distinguishing iron deficiency anemia from anemia of inflammatory disease, portosystemic shunting, and breed-associated microcytosis in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with anemia were tested to see if certain blood measurements could help distinguish iron deficiency anemia from other types of anemia. The study found that specific reticulocyte indices (which measure young red blood cells) could indicate iron deficiency, but these indices were also affected by other conditions like inflammatory disease and portosystemic shunting. This means that while these tests can be helpful, they aren't foolproof for diagnosing iron deficiency alone. If your dog has anemia, your vet may use these tests to better understand the underlying cause and decide on the best treatment.
People also search for: dog anemia symptoms · iron deficiency anemia in dogs · dog blood test results interpretation
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Indices of reticulocyte cell size and hemoglobin content show promise for diagnosing iron deficiency (FeDef), but have not been evaluated in other causes of canine anemia or microcytosis. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to establish reference intervals (RI) for reticulocyte indices in dogs, and to compare results from dogs with FeDef anemia to dogs with 3 conditions that may mimic FeDef on hematologic and biochemical testing, including anemia of inflammatory disease (AID), portosystemic shunting (PSS), or breed-associated microcytosis (BAM). METHODS: Reticulocyte indices were measured using the ADVIA 2120. Reference intervals were determined prospectively in 122 healthy dogs, and retrospectively compared between dogs with FeDef (n = 11), AID (n = 12), PSS (n = 12), and BAM (n = 7). RESULTS: Almost all dogs had at least one reticulocyte index outside the RI. The most discriminating reticulocyte indices were reticulocyte hemoglobin concentration (CHCMr) (FeDef ≤ 26 g/dL, AID ≥ 26 g/dL, PSS ≥ 24.1 g/dL, and BAM ≥ 27.7 g/dL), reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) (FeDef ≤ 20.1 pg, AID ≥ 21.8 pg, PSS ≥ 19.2 pg, BAM ≥ 21 pg), percentage of reticulocytes with low CHCMr (%Hypo-r) (FeDef ≥ 74.2%, AID ≤ 80.1%, PSS ≤ 91.5%, BAM ≤ 61.6%,), and percentage of reticulocytes with low CHr (%LowCHr) (FeDef ≥ 50.7%, AID ≤ 31.3%, PSS ≤ 63.2%, BAM ≤ 34.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Reticulocyte indices can be altered in dogs with various conditions, and are not specific for FeDef. Dogs with CHCMr, CHr, %Hypo-r, and %LowCHr beyond the above cutoffs are suspicious for FeDef. Dogs with AID, PSS, or BAM with reticulocyte indices altered beyond the ranges reported for those subgroups warrant evaluation for concurrent iron deficiency.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25488305/