Hemoglobin testing in animals

Hemoglobin (Hb) is an oxygen binding protein found in red blood cells and is vital for gas (oxygen and cardon dioxide) transport in the circulatory system.  The typical value of hemoglobin varies from species to species and even between breeds (Brenten et al 2016).

Regardless of the actual physiological hemoglobin concentration, red cell mass, and thus oxygen-carrying capacity must remain constant over time in healthy animals. Mature red cells have a finite life span (again, this varies species to species) and their production and destruction must be carefully balanced, or disease ensues. 

Hemo Vet allows a veterinarian to quickly assess the hemoglobin concentration of any subject in the clinic or in the field and enable rapid diagnosis of a particular disease state along with other clinical symptoms and initiate treatment.

The following list provides a brief overview of a number of such studies.

Polycythemia: Diogo et al 2015 Case report of a dog presenting with polycythemia and its diagnosis and treatment. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26359727/

Anemia in dogs: Naigamwalla et al 2012 review article on anaemia in dogs. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3280776/

Sepsis: Troia et al 2020: Study showing the relation ship between Hb and methemoglobin during sepsis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7326004/pdf/fvets-07-00341.pdf

Babesia gibsoni prognostic: Kandasamy et al 2021: Hb is used as one of several biomarkers for the prognosis of dogs infected with Babesia gibsoni. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33666974/

Distemper: Daldaban et al 2021: study correlating gene expression with several biomarkers as an aid to prognosis of dogs with distemper. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S014795712100103X?via%3Dihub         

Gastro intestinal bleeding: Stiller et al 2020: Dogs with higher hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit had significantly lower odds of having occult gastro intestinal bleeding. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8162593/pdf/JVIM-35-1427.pdf

Gastric ulceration:  Elfadadny et al 2021: Hb concentrations start to decrease at 10 days post ulceration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8478067/pdf/JVIM-35-2196.pdf

Heartworm disease:  Kim et al 2020: Decreased Hb is associated with dogs severely affected by heart worm disease. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7491002/pdf/cjvr_04_265.pdf

Implantitis: Chaushu et al 2020: Hb concentration increases during implant induced infection and returns to normal with treatment. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32415398/

Parvo virus:  Gaykwad et al 2016: Hb concentration rises during parvoviral enteritis and normalises with treatment. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7166929/pdf/JVP-41-68.pdf

Trypanosomosis: Reddy et al 2016b: Hb concentration is significantly reduced in dogs infected with Trypanosoma evansi. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927513/pdf/12639_2014_Article_531.pdf

Aging: Pati et al 2015: Decreased Hb concentration as dogs age past 10 years of age. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4774830/pdf/VetWorld-8-273.pdf

Breed and age differences: Brenten et al 2016: Study showing the importance of reference ranges based on both breed and age in dogs.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4879334/pdf/vetreco-2015-000166.pdf

Sample site: Lee et al 2020 : Sample site (venous v arterial) and anticoagulant can affect Hb readings but do not represent an issue in routine clinical diagnosis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7695303/pdf/animals-10-02069.pdf

Congestive heart failure: Ineson et al 2019:  Decreased Hb concentration is amongst several hematological issues in dogs with heart failure. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6766489/pdf/JVIM-33-1902.pdf

Sarcoptic mange: Beigh et al 2016: Bothe severe and moderate mange infection decrease Hb concentration.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27523934/

Liver injury/hepatitis: Selvaraj et al 2017: Hb concentration is decreased with anti-inflammatory induced liver injury. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746105/pdf/oncotarget-08-107763.pdf

High temperature training: Robbins et al 2017: Hb concentration is significantly elevated in hunting dogs trained at high temperatures. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5600973/pdf/fvets-04-00144.pdf