Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pancytopenia secondary to lymphoid leukemia in three horses.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary internal medicine
- Year:
- 1993
- Authors:
- Lester, G D et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Three horses, two 3-year-old geldings and one 11-year-old mare, were found to have a condition called pancytopenia, which means they had low levels of red and white blood cells and platelets. They all showed signs of being unwell for a short time, ranging from 2 days to 4 weeks, including having a fever, eating less than usual, and being very tired. One horse had abnormal cells called blast cells in its blood, and tests on their bone marrow revealed a lot of cancerous lymphoid cells. During the examination after death, the cancerous cells were found in different areas: one horse had them only in the bone marrow, another had them in the bone marrow, liver, and spleen, while the third had them in multiple organs including the kidneys and lungs. The study emphasizes the importance of testing the bone marrow when investigating this type of blood condition.
Abstract
Pancytopenia was observed in two 3-year-old geldings and one 11-year-old mare. All horses had a brief history (2 days to 4 weeks) of fever, anorexia, and depression. One of the three horses had blast cells present on a peripheral blood smear. Examination of the bone marrow showed substantial infiltration with neoplastic lymphoid cells. At necropsy, neoplastic cells were restricted to the bone marrow in one horse, present in bone marrow, liver, and spleen in the second horse, and reported in multiple tissues in the third horse, including bone marrow, kidneys, lung, myocardium and lymph nodes. The value of a bone marrow aspirate and core biopsy in the investigation of pancytopenia is highlighted.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8114032/