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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Trixie's latest blood test
| The results are back now and it seems Trixie hasn't changed much at all. PV 34 and 4.2, if that makes sense to anyone? The vet said she is stable but not really showing any signs of improvement and she seems to think that she should. She asked me to think about taking her to Bristol Vet Uni Hospital in the New Year where they can do some scans and they also have more knowledge of AIHA. I am pretty disappointed really and have no idea why she is not responding to this treatment! Tricia |
| Tricia UK |
| Tricia, The numbers you mention are: PV is really PCV and stands for packed cell volume. The tech takes a blood sample and puts it in a small tube. They spin it to separate the red stuff from the white stuff. They compare it to a scale that tells them what percentage there is of the red stuff (PCV) vs the white stuff. The red stuff are all the blood cells, the part that you are interested in, the white stuff is white blood cells. The normal PCV range for dogs is about 37-55 or so. Different breeds can have slightly different numbers. Your number of 34 is very good! It isn't in the dangerous category for anemia. In fact it is considered very mild anemia. Dr. Dodds would refer to this as "anemia of chronic disease or drug use." The other number, 4.2, refers to the number of blood cells in millions (4,200,000) that are in a representative sample. They now use automated analyzers that count this, but it is possible to also read this on a blood smear! The normal range starts around 4.8 or so depending on the equipment they are using. So you can see that this is not too low either! If you look for something like HGB on your results, that will tell you how much hemoglobin is available to carry oxygen. That number will also probably be a little low because there aren't as many red blood cells to carry the hemoglobin. How is Trixie overall? Is she eating and doing her business ok? Generally interested in the household activities? Does she seem happy to see you and be around you? Give us an idea of what medications you are on right now. We have been sitting at the very low end of the pcv scale for many months and Chance has improved significantly. We may never see a number higher than 38%. I am very pleased with that number. Since your vet seems unsure of him/her self, perhaps a visit to a specialist will ease your mind a little. I am sure they are going to say that Trixie is far from danger right now. My best and happy new year! Patrice |
| Patrice New York State |
| Patrice, thanks so much for your reply, it really has help and I do now understand it so much more. Trixie had her blood test on Christmas Eve, so it was 1 week ago. Her medication is: Antepsin (1g) 2 per day - Azathioprine (25mg)2 per day and Prednisolone (25) 1 mornings and half evenings. Over the past 2 days Trixie has perked up, I supposed thats why I was a little shocked to hear the Vet say there hasn't really been much improvement, going by her latest blood test. As I was saying, she has perked up and more lively, she played with her ball on the carpet last night, wags her tail when I come into the room, her eating habits are fine and her business seems all in working order. She is always happy to go out for a walk and gets excited when that famous word "Walkies" is said :+). Thinking about it now, the results were based on the test taken 7 days ago, so perhaps she has picked up since then. I feel she has. Thanks again for your reply Patrice and A Happy New Year to you also. Tricia x |
| Tricia UK |
| Tricia, As has already been said on this thread, those numbers are actually not bad at all. I know it's still not in the normal range but it's not danger level. My vet has always said that of course the numbers are important, but he places just as much importance on the clinical condition of the dog. As long as Trixie is happy, playing, eating, and seems to be enjoying life then that in itself is an improvement. A happy new year to you both and keep up the good fight. Sue |
| Sue Northants UK |
| Tricia, I agree with what everyone has said above. If Trixie is more like her old self and is eating, drinking and showing interest in walks and life....then that is an improvement. Jasper's bloods have stayed at the low level of the normal range for the last 2 months......so maybe this is his new normal range. Saying that, we don't know what his normal range was before AIHA. P.S He's in the bad books having stolen and eaten a box of chocolate wafer thins yesterday!!!!!!!!!! I've told him its his own fault if he is ill this time and has to go to the vet! Happy and healthy new year to you all! Jackie and a disgraced Jasperdog! |
| Jackie pembrokeshire; west wales; uk |
| HI Tricia, Trixie's values dont look too bad. Kent, our minischnauz, has had 'low' values for the last 6 weeks, but we are not too worried as they are similar to yours. As of the 28th of December, Kent was at 35.4 hematocrit and 4.5 RBCs, both of which are just short of the normal range. His hemoglobin is 11.9, again a thread of only .2 below normal. Kent first got AIHA/IMHA last february, and relapsed in November. He is on prednisone 30 mg divided twice a day, and our vet has added imuran 15mg once a day as he did not like that the hematocrit etc were not rising as fast or strong as hoped. Kent also gets sulfa something to coat his stomach before the pills, and gets tagamet with his meds. I agree with everyone above, see how he is feeling, acting, etc. Hope this helps a little, christine |
| christine florida |
| Thanks for your reply Christine. Since I last posted, Trixie still seems to be ok, she is happy going out for a walk, her gums are not too pale, lightish pink in colour really and over the past couple of days she hasn't been breathing as fast as she did and no signs of panting. I'll see how she goes over the next few days and if she continues to pick-up, I shall call the vet and see about another blood test, perhaps there will be an improvement this time. I hate the thought of taking her to Bristol Vet Hospital and having to go through more tests if it is not necessary. Tricia |
| Tricia UK |
This thread was discussed between 31/12/2007 and 04/01/2008
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