Reply To: Reticulocytosis without anaemia

Replying to Liz Bode 01/09/2021 - 08:20

I saw this in a case last year, and I think it was not long after I’d done the anaemia course with Scott, which had referenced the paper you mentioned Liz (I’m not sure if I would paid too much attention to it otherwise, so I may have missed it in previous cases).

The case I saw was a 13yo FN dashund, with a history of chronic GI signs (variable appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea and weight loss). On ultrasound there were diffuse gastric and small intestinal changes (increased wall thickness and increased mucosal echogenicity), with mild mesenteric lymphadenopathy and some non-specific hepatic changes. Sadly the owner didn’t want to investigate further so no samples were taken and the dog was managed with Pred which improved the clinical signs for a month or so, before further deterioration.

Based on the imaging and progression of clinical signs my main Ddx were chronic enteropathy or neoplasia (lymphoma), but I was more suspicious that this was neoplastic.

I’m not sure how significant the reticulocytosis without anaemia was in this case, but there was definitely underlying pathology present.