Haematological and biochemical reference intervals in healthy racing and retired Italian Greyhounds

Abstract

In view of the enormous variability of dog breeds, breed-specific reference intervals (RIs) are recommended for use in veterinary clinical decision-making. The aim of this study was to determine whether RIs of the general canine population may be applied to the Italian Greyhound (Piccoli Levrieri Italiani or PLI), and to generate breed-specific RIs, where appropriate. Sixty-three privately owned clinically healthy fasted dogs were examined. Routine haematology and biochemistry were performed on 58 enrolled patients using the ADVIA 120 haematology analyzer and the Cobas Mira system, respectively. Changes in haematological and biochemical parameters depending on sex, age and attitude (resting vs. running dogs) were investigated. The results of PLI were compared with the RIs of the general canine population. In those cases in which these RIs were not validated, new RIs were generated according to the guidelines of the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology. Pre-existing RIs were considered valid based on the recommendations by the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). RIs were higher for mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), cell haemoglobin concentration mean (CHCM) and lower for large unstained cells (LUC). A wider discrepancy between pre-existing and newly established RIs was found for some ADVIA parameters regarding red blood cell (RBC) or reticulocyte morphology. For total protein and cholesterol the new RIs were wider than the pre-existing ones, while albumin, calcium and iron were higher. This study suggests that most of the RIs published in veterinary textbooks cannot be validated for PLIs.

Age, breed, sex and diet influence serum metabolite profiles of 2000 pet dogs

“…Additionally, even though the differences between the breeds with the highest and lowest measurand levels were relatively large across the different measurands, a breed-specific concentration exceeded the reference intervals only in creatinine. GH had remarkably higher creatinine concentration than other breeds, supporting a well-recognized and documented phenomenon [16,63–66]. Moreover, in the vast majority of the measurands, GH was systematically different from most other breeds.…”

Haematological and biochemical reference intervals in healthy Ragdoll cats

“…RIs are pivotal in the interpretation of clinicopathological data and to assess health status in both human and veterinary medicine. Breed influence has been previously reported in dogs 16,[19][20][21][22] and cats. [13][14][15] Nevertheless, to our knowledge, no studies on haematological and biochemical RIs in healthy Ragdoll cats have been reported.…”

Plasma chemistry reference intervals for adult multi‐drug‐resistance gene deficient Collies

“…Differences in the reference intervals between dog breeds have been recognized for many years. For example, serum reference intervals for Italian Greyhounds were wider for total protein and cholesterol and higher for albumin, calcium, and iron than previous intervals for multiple breeds 4 . Breed‐specific differences were also found for adult Dogue de Bordeaux for ALT, AST, total cholesterol, and lipase 5 .…”

“…For example, serum reference intervals for Italian Greyhounds were wider for total protein and cholesterol and higher for albumin, calcium, and iron than previous intervals for multiple breeds. 4 Breed-specific differences were also…”