Veterinary Archives, Vol. 80 No. 2, 2010.
Original scientific paper
Erythrocyte and platelet indices in babesiosis of dogs
Zdravko Žvorc
Renata Barić Rafaj
J. Kuleš
Vladimir Mrljak
Abstract
In the present study we evaluated the haematological changes in samples of blood obtained from 30 dogs naturally infected with large Babesia, before and after therapy with imidocarb dipropionate. The results were compared with those obtained from 50 healthy dogs. The evaluation included red blood cell count (RBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), haematocrit (HTC), red distribution width (RDW), platelet counts (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV) and plateletcrit (PCT). Analyses were performed with an automated blood cell counter (Abbott Cell-Dyn CD 3500). The most common disorders in affected dogs were thrombocytopenia with decreased PCT and increased MPV (suggested activation of platelets). Since RDW did not show any changes in babesiosis (suggested uniform population of RBC’s), decreased RBC, MCV and HCT were present in the majority of dogs with babesiosis, before and after therapy. Our results suggest that erythrocyte and platelet indices could provide clinical information about the underlying conditions of anaemia and thrombocytopenia.
Keywords
babesiosis; dog; erythrocytes; platelets
Hrčak ID:
56501
URI
Publication date:
26.4.2010.
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