Nucleated red blood cells as a prognostic indicator in dogs with anemia

Hollmann, F.; Geisen, V.; Hartmann, K.; Doerfelt, René (2025): Nucleated red blood cells as a prognostic indicator in dogs with anemia. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 12: 1585168. ISSN 2297-1769

Abstract

Background:

In human medicine, nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) in the peripheral blood have been associated with a poor prognosis and increased mortality in critically ill patients. In critically ill dogs, mortality was also significantly associated with high peripheral NRBC count.

Objective:

This study aimed to determine the presence of NRBCs in the peripheral blood of dogs with regenerative and non-regenerative anemia and to evaluate the prognostic relevance of NRBCs in anemic dogs. Furthermore, the correlation between NRBCs and other blood parameters was examined.

Materials and methods:

Medical records of 254 anemic dogs hospitalized from November 2013 to June 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Inclusion criteria were a hematocrit of <30%, a minimum age of 6 months, and the presence of a manual blood smear evaluation. Data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test, Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s post-hoc multiple comparison test, and Spearman correlation. p-values <0.05 were considered significant.

Results:

One hundred ninety-one of 254 patients had NRBCs in their blood smear. The absolute NRBC count was significantly higher in dogs with regenerative anemia [1,514/μl (92–40,810/μl)] compared to dogs with non-regenerative anemia [220/μl (10–5,260/μl); p < 0.001]. NRBCs were more often present in dogs with regenerative anemia (141/167) than in dogs with non-regenerative anemia (35/62; p < 0.001). The NRBC concentration was not different between surviving and non-surviving dogs (p = 0.080). An increase or decrease of NRBCs during hospitalization was also not associated with outcome.

Conclusion:

NRBCs commonly appear in the peripheral blood of dogs with regenerative anemia. Their presence and quantity are not associated with survival.

• Dokumententyp: Artikel (LMU)
• Organisationseinheit (Fakultäten): 08 Tiermedizin > Zentrum für Klinische Tiermedizin > Medizinische Kleintierklinik
• DFG-Fachsystematik der Wissenschaftsbereiche: Lebenswissenschaften
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 491502892