2017 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

The results of this study indicate that evaluation of blood coagulation in dogs using the T-TAS is useful and that the blood clotting ability in dogs with various diseases might be evaluated more subtly by T-TAS in the future. The purpose of this study was to describe the frequency with which dogs treated for primary immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) at veterinary teaching hospitals are vaccinated after diagnosis, and investigate whether an association exists between vaccination and vaccine reactions (including but not limited to relapse of IMHA) in this population. A retrospective descriptive observational study was performed involving 66 dogs at 2 veterinary teaching hospitals: Colorado State University (57) and Oregon State University (9) . Medical records databases were searched for cases meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria for primary IMHA. Owners and referring veterinarians of identified dogs were contacted with a survey via postal mail to gather information regarding vaccination of the dog following diagnosis. Referring veterinarians were contacted by phone regarding vaccination history for each dog prior to diagnosis of IMHA. At least one survey was returned in 44 cases. Results indicated 22 dogs did not receive vaccinations after diagnosis, and 21 dogs did receive vaccinations after diagnosis. For the remainder of dogs, no survey was returned or the survey was excluded for inconsistency of information. Of the vaccinated dogs, only 2 possible vaccination reactions were reported (vomiting and urticaria in 1 dog, and worsening anemia in 1 dog). A date of vaccination prior to diagnosis was available for 46 dogs. The mean number of days between vaccination and initial diagnosis of IMHA was 351 days. These results indicate that vaccination occurred among nearly half of dogs diagnosed with IMHA, with rabies being the most common vaccine administered (19 of 21 dogs). This may reflect the legal requirement of rabies vaccination in most locations. Adverse events were uncommon overall, but comparison to the rate of adverse events in the general population was not performed. Finally, this study did not document a temporal relationship between vaccination and initial diagnosis of IMHA, although comparison to a control population is necessary to confirm this finding. Canine heartworm disease due to Dirofilaria immitis is an important disease causing hemostatic disorders. Although there are several studies showing the relationship between coagulation pathway and heartworm infection, most of studies have used conventional methods of laboratory assessment of hemostasis. There is a limitation in using conventional coagulation test to evaluate hypercoagulable state in heartworm infected dogs. Thromboelastography (TEG) provides a more truthful reflection of in vivo hemostasis compared to conventional coagulation tests in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients. In this study, we describe TEG findings in dogs with heartworm infection and compare their coagulation status as determined by TEG to clinical presentation, heartworm grade, and conventional coagulation tests.