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Feline platelet counting with prostaglandin E1 on the Sysmex XT‐2000iV
Author(s) -
Tvedten Harold,
Johansson Päivi
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
veterinary clinical pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1939-165X
pISSN - 0275-6382
DOI - 10.1111/j.1939-165x.2009.00210.x
Subject(s) - platelet , medicine , cats , hematology analyzer , prostaglandin e1 , cell counting , gastroenterology , cell cycle , cancer
Background: The large size of many feline platelets and the high frequency of platelet aggregation often results in falsely low platelet counts in this species. A combination of optical platelet counting to detect even large platelets and the use of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) to inhibit platelet clumping may increase the accuracy of feline platelet counting. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare platelet counts in feline whole blood samples with and without the addition of PGE1 and using different analytical methods in a clinical setting. Methods: Platelet counts were determined in 10 feline patients in a referral veterinary hospital using 2 sample types (EDTA, EDTA with PGE1) and 2 methods of analysis (optical counting [PLT‐O] and impedance counting [PLT‐I]) on the Sysmex XT 2000 iV analyzer. Results: All PGE1–PLT‐O samples had platelet counts of >200 × 10 9 /L. Mean platelet count using PGE1–PLT‐O (410,256±178 × 10 9 /L) was significantly higher ( P <.03) compared with PGE1–PLT‐I (256±113 × 10 9 /L), EDTA–PLT‐O (238±107 × 10 9 /L), and EDTA–PLT‐I (142±84 × 10 9 /L) methods. Depending on the method, platelet counts in 2 to 7 of 10 cats were <200 × 10 9 /L when PGE1‐PLT‐O was not used. A slightly increased platelet count in response to treatment of a feline patient with thrombocytopenia would have been missed without use of PGE1–PLT‐O. Conclusions: Using PLT‐O analysis on EDTA samples containing PGE1 provides higher, and therefore likely more accurate, feline platelet counts in a clinical setting.