Question on blood results

labby · Post by **labby** » Wed May 28, 2003 12:08 pm

Boomer has been on Rimadyl for about 6 months so today I did a blood panel to see how she was doing. My regular vet is off on a cruise so I had his replacement do the blood work. When I called back they said it was all fine but I had them fax over the report.

I see the HCT was 33.8% (range 37.0 - 55.0) and the Hgb was 11.6 g/dl (range 12.0 - 18.0) Both of those tested low and indicate a possible anemia/liver problem according to http://home.gci.net/~divs/disease/lab_tests.html . Am I correct in this?

My vet won't be back until next week. Is Boomer in danger? Thanks in advance.

Post by **Traci** » Wed May 28, 2003 2:35 pm

The CBC can be useful for detecting immunological problems, but shouldn't be relied soley for liver function or when you are concerned about a certain medication's effects. I'd look closely at the chemical analysis, mainly ALT, AST, ALP, ALB, total protein. Your hematocrit results are below normal range, but may not be concerning at this point, it could also be lab error or handling. Look at the platelets or PCV too, if abnormally low then a recheck in another week would be warranted.

How old is Boomer, and has he had any secondary health conditions that may be precursor to some of these results. I'm assuming the rimadyl is being used for an arthritic condition, and you could probably expect some synthesis in the liver, resulting in abnormal results at some point in time. If consistently abnormal, then ceasing the rimadyl would be the plan of action.

Any obvious signs or symptoms of illness not related to arthritis?

labby · Post by **labby** » Wed May 28, 2003 3:17 pm

Boomer is 13. Yes the Rimadyl is used for her arthritis. Basically the alternative would be euthanasia. I actually had to drop her down to one tablet a day since she was running around like she thought she was 10 again.

ALT is 53 U/L (range 10-100)
ALB is 2.97 g/dl (range 2.70-3.80)
ALKP is 38 U/L (range 23-212)
TP is 6.61 g/dl (range 5.20-8.20)
Platelets are 426 (range 175-500)

I'm not sure what the AST since that's not on this report.

As far as I know she hasn't had anything secondary that would show these results. She's been a pretty healthy 13 year old besides the normal old dog stuff. She's had growths and stuff, but that's all normal old dog stuff.

She's been coughing a bit. Maybe not coughing but hacking like she's going to vomit, but doesn't. No its not kennel cough. She's panting a bit too, but she's always been a "warm" dog.

Thanks Traci.

Post by **Traci** » Wed May 28, 2003 4:56 pm

The AST is aspartate aminotransferase, an enzyme often used in the liver enzyme panel, probably not significant at this point, and definately not to be used as a single test (is not always significant, needs to be used in combination with other liver enzymes). However, on the offchance it specifically were higher than normal range, it may be contributed to medications (i.e., hepatotoxic, don't know if rimadyl falls into that category per se in this situation)

Did you mention the hacking to the vet this time? As long as he doesn't suspect a viral, probably nothing to worry about, but do keep an eye on it, and if it worsens or persists, maybe get a recheck.

k9Karen · Post by **k9Karen** » Wed May 28, 2003 6:17 pm

I can't add much to the good info Traci has given except to say the "normal ranges" are just averages, and at least 5% of those tested will be "normal" but outside of the "average range". Being slightly above or below is not necessarily problematic. I've run a "below normal" RBC and H&H for 20 years (or more) - that's "normal" for me. I personally would not be concerned about Boomer's H&H results at all UNLESS they are a large departure from previous results. In humans, a slightly low H&H has even been associated with longer life spans - one of the reasons they think women live longer than men.