Importance of pre-operative complete blood count in elective surgical procedures in dogs and cats - retrospective study

The complete blood count (CBC) is a test commonly carried out in the preoperative period of surgical procedures in dogs and cats. Blood cells are analyzed for information that reflects the patient's systemic condition, and it is possible to identify some alterations and diseases, even in asymptomatic patients. This study evaluated the preoperative blood count of 119 animals from elective surgeries performed between 2016 and 2021. The most common alteration found was hyperproteinemia with 31.63% (31), followed by thrombocytopenia with 20.41% (20), erythrocytosis 18.37% (18), thrombocytosis 11.22% (11), leukocytosis 8.16% (8) and anemia with 7.14% (7). The least frequent alteration found was leukopenia, with 3.06% (3). In general, 54,17% of the animals had some laboratory alteration, even though they were clinically healthy. Thus, it was possible to confirm the importance of the preoperative blood count in dogs and cats, highlighting the need for this complementary test to minimize surgical risks to the patient.