Assessment of platelet activation in dogs with naturally occurring acute pancreatitis

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated that platelets are crucial in inflammation and immune responses. Alteration in platelet activity impact morbidity and survival due to the formation of intravascular clots or bleeding resulting from impaired platelet function. Aiming to evaluate changes in platelet activity in dogs with naturally occurring acute pancreatitis (AP), we identified differences in quantitative and morphological platelet indices, as well as the ratio of platelets expressing P-selectin on their surface (activated platelet ratio; APR) between dogs with naturally occurring AP and healthy dogs. The study included 9 client-owned dogs with AP (the AP group) and 28 client-owned healthy dogs (the control group) from several animal hospitals. Dogs with AP were diagnosed based on compatible clinical signs, increased serum canine pancreatic lipase concentrations, and/or abdominal ultrasonographic findings consistent with AP. In this multi-institutional case-control study, platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), platelet large cell ratio (P-LCR), and plateletcrit (PCT) were measured using complete blood count. Additionally, fluorescence-activated cell sorting was used to measure the APR. There were no statistically significant differences in MPV, PDW, P‑LCR, PLT, or PCT between dogs with acute pancreatitis and healthy controls. APR was statistically significantly higher in the AP group (P = 0.013). In conclusion, dogs with naturally occurring AP showed increased APR, suggesting that platelet activation may be involved in the pathophysiology of the disease, although conventional platelet indices did not differ significantly between groups.