Top 5 Breed - Associated Hematologic Abnormalities

Hematologic evaluation via CBC—including automated analysis and manual blood smear evaluation—is routine for wellness health screening and diagnostic evaluation in clinically ill patients. Observed abnormalities typically indicate an underlying disease process; however, many breed-associated hematologic anomalies are not associated with clinical disease. These takeways are important to avoid misdiagnosis of pathologic disease processes. 1 Inherited Macrothrombocytopenia in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Autosomally inherited macrothrombocytopenia is common in Cavalier King Charles spaniels.1 One study reported either homozygous or heterozygous mutations in the gene that encodes β1-tubulin in 81/100 Cavalier King Charles spaniels.1 Affected (ie, homozygous) dogs typically exhibit a decreased total platelet count ranging from 30 000 to 100 000/μL; carrier (ie, heterozygous) dogs exhibit a platelet count from ≈100 000 to 250 000 (range, 200 000500 000/μL).2 Thrombocytopenia in heterozygous and homozygous dogs, however, is not associated with clinical bleeding, likely because the platelet function is normal and total platelet mass (ie, plateletcrit) is not decreased.2,3 TOP 5 h HEMATOLOGY h PEER REVIEWED