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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Rosie (Back on Track)
| well she's back to PCV of 40.. so we are sticking to our plan. I did get her CBC results that she took in March/2011 Ill list the non normal ones Absolute Reticulocyte 73680 Retic Production Index 1.0 Non responsive marrow <1.0 Erythropoietically Active Marrow 1.0-2.0 Marked Regeneration >3.0 Alk Phosphatase 292 WBC 19.6 Neutrophil Seg 81 Lymphocytes 9 Auto platelet 671 Absolute Neutrophil Seg 15876 Absolute Monocyte 1568 okay if someone can explain what all that means.. and is she regenerating or not really?? Thanks everyone |
| Pam IL |
| Pam, These numbers are from March? Well, it's kind of a snapshot of what was happening back then. A PCV of 40 now is absolutely within normal limits. We destroy old worn out red blood cells everyday of our lives and make new ones to replace the old ones at the same time. But it happens in small quantities each day. The values in the CBC complete blood count that reflect this normal process are Absolute Reticulocyte and Retic Production Index. A normal healthy human or dog will show about 1% Reticulocytes and about 60,000 Absolute (give or take a bit) at any time. This measures the numbers of baby red blood cells that have left the bone marrow and are in general circulation. They will mature in about 3-4 days to useful, oxygen carrying, red blood cells. So the values of 1% and 73680 are within normal limits for a healthy dog. If a dog or human does not have anemia (PCV or HCT 38-55, RBC count of 5.5-8.5, HgB 12-18) then values of 1-1.5% reticulocytes and 60,000-70,000 are normal. It is when there is diagnosed anemia that these values become more important. The bone marrow should respond to the lowered oxygen count in each red blood cell and produce more reticulocytes to correct the situation. The body cells cry out for more oxygen and the kidneys respond by making more of a special hormone that stimulates the bone marrow. When there are sudden and massive quantities of red blood cells being destroyed in AIHA IMHA, there will be great stimulation of the bone marrow and it will release large numbers of reticulocytes. This number can be as high as 3-5% and 300,000 Absolute Reticulocytes. Within 3-5 days these are changed into red blood cells and their numbers will begin to rise (with a similar rise in HCT and HgB) and the retic values will drop. It is troublesome when there is a lowered number of red blood cells in circulation and the bone marrow does not respond. This is referred to as non regenerative anemia. The marrow is not properly regenerating. There can be several reasons for this. My dog had this form of autoimmnune anemia. If a dog cannot begin to make blood cells again, they will eventually die. Providing transfusions and exploring the root cause of this is often a good approach. My dog responded to very high immunosuppressive doses of meds. Since I don't have the values from your CBC of HCT (PCV), HgB, and RBC count along with the Reticulocyte values you have posted, it is hard to say whether there was anemia at the time this blood test was taken. But if there was a normal value for these, then the Reticulocyte values were perfectly normal. However, if there was serious anemia, say a PCV of 18%, along with these Reticulocyte values, this would be considered non regenerative anemia. The term Retic production index is a mathematical calculation that takes into account the seriousness of the anemia (by using the value of the number of red blood cells and the HCT). my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| So she looks pretty good then you would say? all the other numbers were in normal range, only the ones i posted showed to be out of range. thanks for the info. Pam |
| Pam IL |
| HCT was 37.0 HGB 13.4 RBC 6.10 |
| Pam Il |
| WOW, considering all Rosie's been through I think those numbers are great! Are you using milk thistle for the liver? The alkp should come down with time. Have they ruled out infections cause of the higher wbc values? Urinating alright? My thoughts and prayers are with you both. Johnny & Tessy |
| Johnny |
| she pees fine. no infections that I know of. She's on Bioprep. can't afford to add anything else at this time. She seems to be holding her own. Pam |
| Pam IL |
This thread was discussed between 07/05/2011 and 08/05/2011
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