Evaluation of red blood cell distribution width in dogs with various illnesses.

Evaluation of red blood cell distribution width in dogs with various illnesses. Can Vet J. 2019 Sep;60(9):964-971 Authors: Martinez C, Mooney CT, Shiel RE, Tang PK, Mooney L, O'Neill EJ Abstract In humans, increased red blood cell distribution width (RDW) values are associated with higher morbidity and mortality in a variety of pathological processes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate RDW in dogs with a diverse range of pathologies. Clinical data from 276 dogs were retrospectively evaluated. Significantly higher RDW values were found in dogs with primary immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (P < 0.0001), immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (P < 0.0004), hyperadrenocorticism (P < 0.0001), hypothyroidism (P = 0.0220), hepatic vascular anomaly (P < 0.0001), pneumonia (P < 0.0001), chronic kidney disease (P = 0.0005), multi-centric lymphoma (P = 0.0002), and myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (P = 0.0032). However, there was extensive overlap with the values from healthy dogs, limiting the diagnostic value of RDW in this setting. Although RDW may have a role as a potential prognostic indicator, further studies would be necessary to address this. PMID: 31523082 [PubMed - in process]
Source: The Canadian Veterinary Journal - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Tags: Can Vet J Source Type: research