My dog's blood test for skin injury: How do I understand results?

Blood results always have to be interpreted with the results of a hands-on exam and medical history in mind. Numbers alone cannot give a diagnosis. Your veterinarian should have explained those results to you as he also did a clinical exam and knows why you went to the vet with your dog. That said I can give you a general idea: The lab was looking for blod parasites, but did not find any. This can mean that your dog is blood parasite free or just that in the sample they had, there were no parasites visible. This is not proof that your dog is parasite free, it just means they did not find any. The PCV is high, that means your dog is likely somewhat dehydrated. He also has too many neutrophils and too few lymphocytes which is most often a sign of infection. Your veterinarian should explain to you what he suspects your dog is suffering from. The blood parameters alone are just a small part of diagnosis and in your dog's case not very specific.

Hello, I am sorry to hear about Daisy. Based on the blood work abnormalities it is possible that Daisy has an infection secondary to tick borne disease or another organism. Many of these diseases cause destruction of the platelets. The white blood cells are part of the immune system and fight infection. It is possible that this value went up despite being on treatment secondary to fighting a severe infection. However, if Daisy is still not feeling well or these counts don’t improve it may be possible that Daisy’s platelets are low due to a different cause such as immune mediated disease. Your veterinarian can help assess for this kind of disease and determine if treatment is needed if Daisy’s blood counts do not improve or she is clinically ill. Hope this helps, good luck!

Most of the parameters that are reading outside the normal range on this lab work are not likely to be significant and I can list what is abnormal and tell you what that could mean: 1. Slightly elevated leukocytes (white blood cells): while this can be a sign of infection or inflammation a slight elevation is more commonly seen with mild stress and may not be significant 2. Mild elevation in PCV (packed cell volume or red blood cells): this can be seen with dehydration or in very rare cases bone marrow disease; it is also common for some dogs to run slightly high for no significant reason 3. Elevated MCHC (mean cell hemoglobin concentration) only significant if the red blood cell level is low 4. Elevated ALP (alkaline phosphatase, a liver enzyme): can increase with liver or gallbladder disease, increases in cortisol, or bone lesions, but more commonly will be non-specific finding 5. Mildly elevated total bilirubin: can increase with gallbladder disease or anemia, but more likely to be a non-specific finding and potentially due to changes with the blood sample itself 6. Low BUN (blood urea nitrogen): can decrease with severe liver failure but there are not changes consistent with liver failure on blood work so it is a non-specific change With all laboratory values there is a general range that is considered 'normal' but there is always a certain percentage of dogs that will be normal and still fall outside this range. I would of course defer to your veterinarian's interpretation of the lab work since they know Bruno's history and physical exam findings which might change the interpretation.

Hello. Those blood results indicate that there is a low red cell count, low white cell count and low platelets. This COULD indicate leukemia as all three cell lines are low, however it could also be due to a systemic infection and the platelets being low could be due to clumping. The first next step would be to send the blood away to an external lab to look for regeneration, as well as platelet clumps. If your dog is acting sick your vet may want to start on antibiotics in case of a systemtic infection. I suggest you go back to your vet and discuss these results, and discuss what the pathologist comments were if the blood was sent away externally. If bone marrow disease is suspected they can do a bone marrow biopsy.

Hello. Platelets are needed for blood to clot, so if platelets are low you will see actual bruising ( black & blue spots ) or discrete blood spots in the skin or on the mucous membranes. A simple CBC ( complete blood count ) will report the number of platelets *& tell you if there is a problem or not. What you are describing with the redness & inflammation sounds more like an allergic reaction, something that can affect the skin in this area very commonly. If you are worried about platelets, consider having the blood work done. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, and thank you for your question. It is difficult to interpret the results accurately without a medical history, however, in general: - white cell count is within normal range, indicating no sign of infection or inflammation - hemoglobin and PCV are slightly high, which usually indicates mild dehydration. This can be due to not drinking much water for a few hours prior to the blood sample, or from fluid losses through vomiting or diarrhea - MCV is an indicator of red cell size, which is only relevant if the pet is anemic (which Coco is not). I hope this helps, and that Coco is doing okay!

Thank you for sharing Millie's bloodwork results. She has VERY high white blood cell counts which may be indicative of a severe infection, autoimmune disease, or even cancer. I would have her evaluated for the underlying cause which may require radiographs, an ultrasound, and or a blood smear evaluation by a pathologist.