VetNet®
VetNet® AIHA discussion forum
VetNet® Forum
Lifelong Learning Network
www.vetnetlln.ac.uk
Veterinary Recruitment
Premier Partner Program
Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - 8 Year Old Terrier Mix: Kathy
| >kathy wrote: snip> my 8 year old terrier mix was diagnosed with aiha two days ago. she is on prednisone, doxycycline, atopica, and sucralfate. she is lethargic and won't eat. i have taken her home for the weekend in order to watch her 24 hours a day.i cannot remember what her red blood cell count was but was told not low enough for transfusion yet;also clotting can cause problems when gtransfusion is introduced. i have done 3 days worth of research and conclude that blood clots are the main cause of death with this disease. please tell me if there is any new treatment for this disease as all i have read looks grave. all of my dogs have lived to be 17, my other terrier mix is 15 now and is quite spunky. Kathy, I am so sorry to hear about your terrier. From the treatment you mention it sounds like you might have a vet who is knowledgeable about treatments for aiha. That's a very good thing! In sudden cases of AIHA, the event that precipitated the anemia might often be identifiable. In some cases, ingestion of something causes the anemia. Think about the last few days and write down all the things that you think she could have accidentally eaten: things like coins, rat poison, paint, human medications, chemicals and the like. Unusual foods include onions. Take this list with you to your vet. Think about things that your dog may have been exposed to such as recent vaccinations, heartworm shots or pills, topical flea applications. These, unfortunately, are not reversible, but will help the vet narrow the causes of what has just happened. If there is even a slim chance that your dog has been exposed to ticks, ask your vet to do a Snap4dx test. It is easy to do and has information about lyme, heartworm and two other common ticks diseases. Supportive care is the *most important thing* you can do right now. High on the list *is* a transfusion. Dogs get one "free" transfusion in their life or in other words, they can have a donation of blood from *any* dog *only once.* After that, blood transfusions must either be cross matched with a doggie donor or you must purchase superwashed universal donor blood. Dogs have many more blood types than humans so it is very important to do a cross match of any prospective donor for the second transfusion. Vets often keep universal donor dogs on a list and can bring them in quickly. If this is not the case, you can do two things. You can find dogs that you know whose owners might be willing to donate blood from and have them cross matched. You can also get excellent donor blood from: http://www.hemopet.com/ or check with local veterinary hospitals. There is disagreement about how low a dog's hematocrit or packed cell volume (hct or pcv) can drop before a transfusion is necessary. Some experts claim that it shouldn't be done before it has dropped below approx. 11-12%. This is because transfusions can sometimes cause the kind of antigen reactions your vet is referring to. In any case, the generally accepted concept is that the transfusion, if needed, is more important the the possible risk of this happening. If great care is taken to match the blood types it can be a proper treatment. It is becoming more accepted that a transfusion should be given whenever there are indications that there is hypoxia to the tissues that impacts the dog (or person!) negatively. What does this mean? It means that there aren't enough blood cells (with enough hemoglobin) to deliver oxygen to the body cells and they begin to suffer from this lack. Breathlessness or inability to stand are two real signs that this is happening. From my point of view, and how I dealt with Chance, transfusions were done whenever I felt he was beginning to suffer hypoxia and were always fresh whole blood (as opposed to superwashed universal donor blood.) FWB has more elements that are good for the dog and generally last longer. I never let him get below 18% hematocrit (packed cell volume hct or pcv) and scheduled them so they could be done at a quiet time at my local vets office. No emergency. Peaceful and quiet. You may not have this luxury right now. However, you can become actively involved in his treatment. Make sure you ask for all paperwork, especially blood workups, and keep them in a folder. Get a notebook and write down all meds that have been administered, all other things of note and do this by date. We keep ours in the kitchen where both of us can add items. Your dog has been given a whole lot of different meds. Educate yourself what each one is for. Prednisone is considered the cornerstone of treatment for aiha. There are many side effects of this drug (look up Cushings disease: iatrogenic). Atopica is cyclosporine and is widely used to treat aiha. My dog would not be alive if it weren't for the use of it. Side effects are generally vomiting and diarrhea. Both of these drugs are used to suppress the immune system and act in different ways to do this. My only suggestion is that doxycycline is very hard on a dog's stomach and I would ask why they are using this (do they think there is a tick disease involved?) If they are just using it for protection from infection there are other antibiotics that are easier on the stomach and liver and as effective. You are correct that there are lots of references to this high number of dogs lost to inappropriate blood clotting. There are several postings on this forum by people who have been through this kind of treatment and I am sure they will respond to your need to know about this. It's really great that you are reading up on this disease! As the days go by you will learn more about what is happening and you will begin to feel more optimistic about the future. You will understand that you can control this treatment program. Keep posting updates. good luck patrice |
| Patrice New York State |
| Kathy, I also read where alot of dogs die from blood clots. My vet didnt think asprin was a good idea however, she consulted another vet and the head of the clinic who said absolutely so Cranky gets 1mg of asprin a day along with pred and cyclosporine and pepcid. I dont know how much asprin you would need as your vet will determine since Cranky is little 5 pds. then Cranky gets 1 mg. All of Crankys meds are made at a compound pharmacy due to the fact his is so little. Hope you baby is bigger as compound meds tend to be kind of expensive. Teresa and Cranky |
| Teresa Smithfield Ky |
This thread was discussed on 28/10/2007
Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) forum index
This thread is from the Vetnet archive. The live Vetnet forum is active now.
