Biochemical changes in pancytopenic and non pancytopenic dogs with ehrlichiosis

Abstract

In order to study the biochemical changes in naturally infected dogs with Ehrlichia canis, blood samples from 57 animals were collected. Thirty-five healthy dogs were used as control group. Dosage of serum protein, albumin, globulin, albumin:globulin ratio (A:G), urea, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) e alkaline phosphatase (AP) were carried out. The comparison of mean in infected and control group as well as the distribution of frequencies were investigated in order to associate the disease to the findings. Hypoproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia, decreased A:G ratio, hyperglobulinemia, and uremia were associated to ehrlichiosis (p < 0.05). Regarding pancytopenia, it was observed that ALT and creatinine were, respectively, the marker of ehrlichiosis in non pancytopenic (NP) and pancytopenic (P) dogs. There were no significantly differences in protein profile in NP and P dogs that support the presence of a marker for the disease.