Anemia

Overview:

Anemia is a deficiency of red blood cells and hemoglobin in circulation. It affects both dogs and cats and the causes vary widely.

Causes:

Anemia is generally due to one of three issues: decreased production of red cells from the marrow (cancer, Feline Leukemia or Aids, parvovirus, kidney disease, certain drugs, and Ehrlichia); increased destruction of red cells in the bloodstream (immune-mediated, parasites, onion or acetaminophen ingestion, chemical ingestion); or blood loss (trauma, splenic tumor, gastrointestinal ulcers/bleeding).

Symptoms:

The signs can be very mild to severe and can be gradual or abrupt depending on the cause. Pale mucous membranes, exercise intolerance, vomiting, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), collapse, distended abdomen, jaundice, and heart murmur are all possible signs.

Treatment:

Treatment will depend on diagnosis and can include steroids, blood transfusions, antiparasitics, or surgery. Some conditions such as leukemia, Aids, and kidney disease have no cure, so treatment is palliative. Many patients will need to be hospitalized while diagnosis is achieved through blood work, radiographs, ultrasound.