CIMDA

Thank you Jo, you have been so helpful already to me.

Hello. I'm looking for other owners' experiences with dogs who exhibit very low platelets as shown on blood tests (low as 4K) but with no other symptoms such as bruising, bleeding, lethargy, etc.

Out of the blue, my ten year old previously healthy and robust dog suddenly collapsed three times in one evening and quickly recovered. Cardiac issues were ruled out, infectious diseases such as babesia and heartworm were ruled out. He was put on doxycycline and fenbendazole as a precaution for parasites. As well as severe thrombocytopenia, he initially had polycythemia which was later resolved.

My dog continued to act normally, was bright and active with healthy appetite. Two CT scans and an ultrasound revealed splenomegaly and a mass in the abdomen. A splenectomy was recommended as the only course of action. No immunosuppressive treatment was ever considered. The specialists were concerned he had cancer which was one of their reasons for not using immunosuppressants and the fact they recommended surgery only. An aspirate of the lymph node was benign.

The splenectomy was put on hold until my dog's platelets rose to an acceptable level for surgery and he kept going back to the clinic for blood tests over a period of six weeks, but his platelets never rose sufficiently, he was hovering around 10K.

Unfortunately without any meaningful treatment over this period, one day my dog started tiring, was reluctant to eat, was panting and became anaemic. He was admitted to the clinic for observation and it was decided that he should have an emergency splenectomy regardless of his low platelets and the overall risk.

He came through surgery but then sadly developed severe complications - he went into acute kidney failure (he had never had any kidney problems before) and started throwing clots. My suspicion is that the use of cyclosporine predisposed him to thromboembolic disease and he became hypercoagulable.

He was never found to have cancer - the histopathology of his spleen and abdominal mass (large clot) showed no signs of any neoplasia.

To my immense distress he died after ten days in the ICU fighting multiple conditions in addition to sudden kidney failure - he developed severe water retention, he had anorexia, pyrexia and was jaundiced.

My main concern is how the vets involved were unable to diagnose him, as a result of which they failed to treat him properly. In the end, it seemed that he had primary IMTP, which became IMHA and then he developed DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation).

It seems that my vets were so perplexed by the fact my dog presented normally to them that they didn't know how to treat him. The result was that he deteriorated and then surgery was inevitable, which had fatal consequences.

I just wanted to find out if other owners' dogs have experienced severe thrombocytopenia with no classical symptoms such as bruising or bleeding and how their vets treated it.

I have been told that my dog's case is extremely unusual so I would like to find out if that is indeed true. No one could figure out how he could function so normally for so long with such perilously low platelets.

That the vets let this situation continue with no meaningful intervention until it was suddenly an emergency is baffling to me and I am looking for answers.

Grateful for any insight, thank you!