Multicenter, Retrospective Determination of the Clinical Utility of Screening Tests in Dogs With Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Background

Potential triggers of immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) are often identified, but their frequency and the benefit of extensive screening for these to individual dogs is uncertain.

Objective

To assess the frequency of non-associative IMHA in dogs undergoing screening in Britain and Ireland and identify where specific tests could be beneficial.

Animals

Two hundred twenty-two client-owned dogs with IMHA.

Methods

Multicenter, retrospective cohort study of dogs with IMHA. Medical records and blood, urine, imaging, and pathology reports were reviewed. Cases were assessed for associative IMHA, and multivariable analysis was performed to define those.

Results

Associative IMHA was present in 73/222 (33%) dogs. Diagnoses included toxic (24/222, 11%); infectious (17/222, 8%); neoplastic (16/222, 7%) and non-infectious inflammatory (13/222, 6%) conditions. A further 102 dogs (46%) had a finding most likely incidental, with no pertinent findings in 47/222 (21%) dogs. Associative IMHA was more likely as patients aged (odds ratio 1.108 per year, 95% CI: 1.012–1.218, p = 0.03).

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

The benefit of extensive diagnostic screening and implication of detected abnormalities remains uncertain for individual dogs with IMHA in Britain and Ireland. However, older dogs are more likely to have pertinent findings after a diagnosis of IMHA.