Effects of a single subcutaneous dose of enoxaparin on veterinary viscoelastic coagulation monitor variables in healthy cats: Double blind, placebo controlled cross-over trial.

Abstract

Cats placed on anticoagulant medication require frequent monitoring. The veterinary viscoelastic coagulation monitor (VCM-Vet) could provide a convenient and cost-effective monitoring, enabling therapeutic decision making. Enoxaparin will lead to changes in VCM-Vet variables and these will correlate with antiXa activity. Twenty-one healthy cats. Cats were randomized to receive either enoxaparin (1mg/kg) subcutaneously or 0.9% NaCl (equal volume) and crossed over with a 7-day washout period. The investigators were blinded to group allocation until data analysis. Jugular blood samples were drawn at time 0, and 2, 4, and 8hours after injection for VCM-Vet analysis within 2min of collection. Citrated plasma was frozen at -80°C for antiXa activity analysis. A Generalized Linear Model was completed to assess changes between baseline measurements and all time points. Significant differences between the enoxaparin-treated cats and controls at for T0h and T2h were found and presented as mean ± SD for clotting time (enoxaparin, 593.4 ± 78.0s; control, 448.5 ± 50.3s, P < .001), clot formation time (enoxaparin, 183.1 ± 41.7s; control, 155.4 ± 28.0s, P=.001), and alpha angle (enoxaparin, 52.4 ± 6.1°; control, 56.9 ± 3.7s, P=.003). AntiXa activity was significantly different between T0 and all other timepoints for the enoxaparin group (P < .001). There was no correlation between changes in clotting time and antiXa activity. The VCM-Vet detects a difference at 2hours after single-dose enoxaparin administration and it can be useful for anticoagulant therapy monitoring in cats.