My dog's blood test shows low counts. What does it mean? Leukemia?

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!

You are describing pancytopenia which is a low red blood cell, white blood cell and platelet count. We see this disease process secondary to infectious diseases carried by ticks, toxins such as hormones or even secondary to some medications such as anti-inflammatories, primary diseases of the bone marrow and cancer. Unfortunately, it is a problem because if left untreated his platelet count will continue to drop resulting in bleeding and his low white blood cell count predisposes him to infection. He needs to be tested for tick borne disease and possibly have a bone marrow aspirate. In the meantime, your veterinarian may recommend treating him with doxycycline and prednisone.

I can see the results, but I'm unable to see the reference ranges for each value which can vary based on the machine so it's a little difficult to say for certain what these changes could mean. It looks to me like the monocytes and lymphocytes (specific types of white blood cells) are a little low - this could be a stress response which is very normal for a dog having it's blood drawn in the hospital. Some dogs simply lie on the lower end of the reference range as well. I can't think of any disease where low lymphocytes and monocytes in the absence of other changes would be significant, and this would not raise a flag for possible cancer in my mind. Red cell distribution width (RDW) gives an idea of the average size of a red blood cell and mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCH) tells how much hemoglobin is present in each cell - these parameters are really only significant when there is also anemia or low hematocrit. If you have other concerns you should definitely follow up with your vet - it's always easiest for the doctor who has examined the animal and is familiar with the case to interpret lab results!

Common things to look for in a blood test are anemia (low red blood cells) and elevated white blood cells, but this is not always the case, sometimes the CBC will be normal and a sample of blood needs to be sent to the lab for further analysis.

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.

With a white count that keeps getting higher despite antibiotics I would be concerned there is cancer hiding somewhere. An ultrasound would be my next test as it can look at the intestine, lymph nodes, liver and spleen. The spleen makes the red blood cells, and if it has a tumor then that can cause that count to drop. An immune disease can also cause a low red count.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like infection. I would suggest 6-7 days of antibiotics treatment and then repeat the test. Alternatively, sending off blood for a smear evaluation will be a good option to differentiate infection from other (rare) causes of neutrophilia, like neoplasia and bone marrow diseases.