My dog's blood test: low platelets, high white cells. Is she okay?

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.

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.

The white blood cell count is very high indicating an infection and is concerning. The platelet count is low but it can also vary based on how clean the blood collection method is as this can cause artifacts sometimes. If that is accurate and it correlates with the low HCT value, then it is very concerning as that can indicate an auto immune disease,a tick borne disease, or a blood disorder from a toxin such as rat poison. All of these causes are very serious and can have prolonged recoveries

The problem here is to establish the underlying cause of thrombocytopenia (low platelets). Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia is one of the most common causes. This process usually occurs in the spleen although the liver also plays a role. Thrombocytopenia develops as platelet destruction exceeds compensatory production by the bone marrow. Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia can be classified as primary or secondary. Secondary processes can be caused by infective diseases or tumors very commonly. Usually to determine a diagnosis more tests needs to be performed like abdominal ultrasound and chest x rays. Infective diseases like Ehrlichia, Anaplasma spp for example should be ideally evaluated as well. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum (where you can post pics of the blood tests) or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello, According to the attached diagnostic test results, Bruno tested positive for Babesia. Babesia is a red blood cell parasite that usually causes anemia but it can cause decreased platelets and kidney injury. I would advise you to discuss therapy with your veterinarian as soon as possible. The disease is treated with a couple of drugs but typically imidocarb.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Thunder, he sounds pretty sick. It sounds like you and your veterinarian are trying many different treatments for his low platelets. It is possible that he is suffering from an immune-mediated disease such as ITP, which is immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. This is where the immune system destroys the body's platelets. We can see this secondary to tick-diseases such as ehrlichia. He is already on prednisone, but he may require a second immune-modulatory medication, such as mycophenolate. This medication works with prednisone to reduce immune destruction of platelets. I hope this information is helpful, and best of luck trying to get Thunder's disease under control. I'm sure it is very difficult and frustrating for you.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that Dollar is having a problem. The blood work looks fairly normal with regards to the packed cell volume and platelets. These were checked to evaluate whether there was a bleeding problem due to the skin bruising. The white blood cell response is due to what is occurring with the skin. This is my opinion from looking at the photo of the skin- Some trauma occurred such as a bite wound (puncture marks) and there is a lot of soft tissue injury (crushing from a bite) causing the bruising. I hope this helps and I hope Dollar makes a speedy recovery.