Abstract
BACKGROUND: The invasive nature of liver biopsy and the risk of complications make patients reluctant to undergo the procedure. This situation has necessitated the search for easily accessible haematological indexes such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and red cell distribution width to lymphocyte ratio (RDW/LYM) to contribute to the clinical diagnosis and prognosis evaluation processes in dogs with cholangitis-cholangiohepatitis. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study is to evaluate some predictive markers to contribute the clinical diagnosis in dogs with cholangitis-cholangiohepatitis. MEDHODS: Seventeen client-owned dogs with cholangitis-cholangiohepatitis were randomly allocated. Nine clinically healthy dogs (control group) confirmed with clinical examination, complete blood count (CBC) and serum profiles were used. Cholangitis-cholangiohepatitis was diagnosed in dogs with dilated bile ducts, thickened gallbladder wall up to 4 mm and increased parenchymal echogenicity. Clinical procedures including clinical examination, blood analyses and diagnostic abdominal ultrasonography were performed in all dogs. CBC indices such as NLR, mean platelet volume to platelet ratio (MPV/PLT), red cell distribution width to platelet ratio (RDW/PLT), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and RDW/LYM were calculated using absolute CBC values. RESULTS: A final total of 10 dogs were enrolled in the study. NLR and RDW/LYM ratios were significantly higher (p < 00.5) in dogs with cholangitis-cholangiohepatitis compared to healthy ones. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the use of NLR and RDW/LYM ratio in dogs with cholangitis-cholangiohepatitis complex appears potentially promising. Larger prospective, case-control studies are needed to further evaluate these findings. Veterinary practitioners can obtain valuable diagnostic data before possible invasive liver procedures by evaluating NLR and RDW/LYM ratios, which are easily obtained from CBC parameters.