My dog's RBC count is dropping after pyometra surgery. What's wrong?

Question

1. Emergency spay on Mon. due to pyo. 2. Hasn't eaten too much since 11/11. 3. No internal bleeding (checked this AM, checking again now) 4. Drank a ton of water prior surgery. 5. Not IMHA based on tests. 6. RBC count was 26 pre-surgery, 21 earlier today, now 17. 7. At vet now, getting IV and antibiotics. Any clue what this could be? Dog is alert, but RBC is dropping. Pet's info: Dog | Wirehaired Pointing Griffon | Female | unspayed | 6 years and 6 months old | 65 lbs

Daniel Fonza, DVM · Accepted Answer

At this point with history of a pyometra, the anemia could be secondary to a chronic infection and until the infection is under control the anemia may continue to worsen. Post-surgery, it would be important to ensure that there is no blood loss. If the total protein is low and the red blood cells are dropping this could indicate that there is a hemorrhage occurring somewhere in the body. If an ultrasound has not already been performed, I would certainly recommend having one done to help see if there's anything going on in the abdomen that may indicate an active hemorrhage. If an active Hemorrhage has been ruled out, then the next challenge is to determine whether or not the anemia is regenerative or non regenerative. As I stated earlier, this anemia could be secondary to the infection and it could also be immune-mediated meaning that the immune system is destroying the red blood cells for some reason. Some drugs can cause this condition and other times we never find out what it is caused by, we simply treat. I would have a reticulocyte count sent out as part of a full workup. My concern is that the red blood cell count continues to drop. You may be faced with the decision to do a blood transfusion to maintain the red blood cells at a particular level so that Hannah remains stable. If this is due to a chronic infection, then it may take some time for the antibiotics to start working before the anemia resolved or begins to improve. I sure hope Hannah improves soon! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help answer any others that you may have.

My dog's RBC count is dropping after pyometra surgery. What's wrong?

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