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Blood Related Deficiencies in Dogs

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Treatment

Treatment depends on the primary condition that led to pancytopenia, as it is essential that the primary disease be diagnosed and treated first. Aggressive antibiotic therapy and blood transfusions may be necessary. Medications for the underlying cause may be necessary, in addition to various medications to stimulate the production of neutrophils (a type of white blood-cell that fights infection), and another medication to stimulate the production of red-blood cells by bone marrow.

Living and Management

Daily physical examinations should be given after initial treatment, including frequent monitoring of body temperature and a periodic complete blood count (CBC). The frequency of CBC checks depends on how severely low the patient’s blood-cell and platelet counts were and are, as well as the underlying cause of the disease.

Additional care measures depend upon the underlying cause of disease. Depending on the severity, these may include inpatient care at a hospital, and aggressive therapy.

Prevention

There are many causes of pancytopenia, and it is not possible to prevent against all of them. However, some precautions can be taken. Dogs should be kept up to date with vaccinations that may prevent infectious diseases.

For dogs with cancer, there is a danger of developing pancytopenia as a side effect of cancer treatment, and frequent CBC monitoring will need to be done.