Abstract
Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) may be primary or secondary. In primary IMHA, no underlying cause can be found, whereas secondary IMHA is triggered by an underlying cause, such as neoplasia, infectious diseases, or drugs. This paper describes 3 dogs with typical signs of IMHA that was possibly associated with the intestinal parasite Ancylostoma caninum. As intestinal helminths can be difficult to diagnose on faecal examination, it would be pertinent to perform multiple faecal examinations on any animal that has IMHA with no apparent underlying cause, as part of the therapy.
Highlights
Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) may be primary or secondary[9], and can be classified into 5 classes[11]
This paper describes 3 dogs with IMHA, which was possibly associated with the intestinal parasite Ancylostoma caninum
Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia is associated with the excessive destruction of erythrocytes and is characterised by moderate to severe anaemia, reticulocytosis, spherocytosis and autoagglutination[5,10,13]
Summary
Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) may be primary (idiopathic) or secondary[9], and can be classified into 5 classes[11]. IMHA arises when an immune response targets erythrocytes either directly or indirectly. The immunemediated destruction of erythrocytes is initiated by binding of immunoglobulin G or M and/or complement to the erythrocyte surface, which results in their recognition by specific receptors on the reticulo-endothelial cells. The subsequent destruction is mainly extravascular[5], intravascular destruction can occur[13]. In primary IMHA no underlying inciting cause can be found, whereas secondary IMHA is triggered by an underlying cause[5], such as neoplasia, infectious diseases (parasitic, viral, bacterial, rickettsial or fungal), or drugs[8]. This paper describes 3 dogs with IMHA, which was possibly associated with the intestinal parasite Ancylostoma caninum
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