felis - Articles
Blood smear
Introduction
- Blood smears are simple to perform and can provide useful information on all blood cell lines.
- Qualitative (morphology) and quantitative (counts) information can be obtained on leukocytes, erythrocytes and platelet series.
- Definitive diagnosis of blood parasites, eg Hemobartonella felis Mycoplasma haemofelis, 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' and 'Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis' .
- Characterization of hematological disorders which will assist in definitive diagnosis.
Uses
Indicated in:
- Classify and characterize anemia Anemia: overview , bleeding disorders(thrombocytopenia) Thrombocytopenia or neoplasia (leukemia Leukemia , clinical staging of lymphoma).
- Suspected inflammatory disease (of infectious or immune-mediated origin).
- Suspect cases of infection/parasitic disease including:
- Protozoal parasites: Babesia felis Babesia felis , Cytauxzoon felis Cytauxzoon felis .
- Mycoplasma parasites: Mycoplasma haemofelis and Mycoplasma haemominutum (both subspecies of an organism previously known aHaemobartonella felis).
- Bacteria: Bartonella spp Bartonella .
- As a critical adjunct to in-house hematology analyzers, since differential counts on these machines are only a rough estimation.
Advantages
- Very rapid simple technique requiring minimal equipment.
- Can be performed with very small volumes of blood.
- Accurate assessment of cell morphology which may be affected by storage or transport.
Disadvantages
- Must use clean slides to avoid holes appearing in the smear (grease spots).
- Smear must be rapidly air dried to ensure that cell morphology is preserved.
- technique must be used regularly to make useful blood smears.
Technical problems
- Production of a good smear with a feathered edge may take practice.
- Problems can occur with drying, fixing and staining of films.
- Need to gain experience in identification of morphological abnormalities.
Time required
Preparation
- 5 min for preparation of patient and collection of blood sample.
Procedure
- Smears can be prepared rapidly following sample collection.
- Staining and subsequent drying can take between 15 and 45 min depending on the type of stain used.
Requirements
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Preparation
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Technique
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Aftercare
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Outcomes
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Further Reading
Publications
Refereed papers
- Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
Other sources of information
- Harvey J W (2001) Atlas of Veterinary Hematology. W.B. Saunders Company.
- Reagan J W (1998) Veterinary Hematology Atlas of Common Domestic Species, Iowa State Press.
- Duncan JR, Prasse KWet al Veterinary Laboratory Medicine Clinical pathology, third edition, Iowa State University Press
- Davidson M G, Else R W & Lumsden J H (1998) In:BSAVA Manual of Clinical Pathology. BSAVA, Cheltenham.
- Meyer D & Harvey J (1998) Interpretation and Diagnosis. In: Veterinary Laboratory Medicine. 2nd edn. Philadelphia: W B Saunders.
- Willard M D, Tvedten H & Turnwald G H (1994) In: Small Animal Clinical Diagnosis by Laboratory Methods. 2nd edn. Philadelphia: W B Saunders.
- Jain N C (1993) In: Essentials of Veterinary Hematology. Ed N C Jain. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.
- Bush B M (1975) In: Veterinary Laboratory Manual. London: William Heinemann Medical Books Ltd.