Tierarztl Prax Ausg K Kleintiere Heimtiere 2019; 47(01): 63
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1678426
Vorträge
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Assessment of Diagnostic Utility of RETIC-HGB to Detect Iron-Limited Erythropoiesis in Cats

M. Keiner
1   Department of Internal Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
,
N. Bauer
2   Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Clinical Pathology and Clinical Pathophysiology, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
,
A. Moritz
1   Department of Internal Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
2   Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Clinical Pathology and Clinical Pathophysiology, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
26 February 2019 (online)

 

Background Reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) provided by the Siemens ADVIA® 2120 can be used as a diagnostic marker of iron deficiency. RETIC-HGB, a similar variable of the IDEXX ProCyte® Dx hematology analyzer has recently been introduced.
Objectives The objective of this 12-months prospective study was to evaluate the clinical utility of RETIC-HGB in the diagnosis of different causes of iron-limited erythropoiesis in cats.
Methods Hematologic variables, simultaneously analyzed on the ProCyte® Dx and ADVIA® 2120 analyzers, biochemistry panels, parameters of iron metabolism and the acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) were compared between healthy controls (n = 44), cats presented for a health check (n = 14) and cats of different disease groups (n = 217). Diseased cats were categorized as having cardiac (n = 45), endocrine (n = 7), gastrointestinal (n = 23), hematopoietic (n = 15), inflammatory (n = 17), miscellaneous (n = 20), respiratory (n = 20), renal (n = 14) or neoplastic (n = 17) disorders, a portosystemic shunt (n = 15) or hyperthyroidism (n = 24). Furthermore, the correlation between measurements of RETIC-HGB and CHr was assessed (n = 275).
Results Compared to healthy controls, significantly lower median values were found for RETIC-HGB (p < 0.05), CHr (p < 0.001) and MCV (p < 0.001) in animals with portosystemic shunts. CHr but not RETIC-HGB was significantly decreased in animals with inflammatory (p < 0.0001), renal (p < 0.0001) and cardiac (p ≤ 0.05) disorders. Moreover, animals with inflammatory disorders had significantly increased SAA values (p < 0.0001) and neutrophil counts (p < 0.001) as well as significantly lower iron (p < 0.01) and TIBC values (p < 0.05). Overall, a poor correlation (rs = 0.54) was found between RETIC-HGB and CHr with a small bias of 0.07 fmol/l.
Conclusion Low CHr is associated with hematologic and serum biochemical abnormalities indicative of iron deficiency. RETIC-HGB is a less sensitive screening tool than CHr to detect iron-limited erythropoiesis in cats. The poor correlation between CHr and RETIC-HGB is likely due to species and different methodology.