Bone marrow cytological evaluation in dogs with chronic kidney disease

Since anemia is indicated as an important compromising factor for the quality of life of dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD), bone marrow cytological analysis may provide more information on the hematological profile these dogs and, therefore, allow clinicians to not only choose the most adequate treatment but also monitor the response to therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility with sternal bone marrow puncture in chronic kidney disease (CKD) using only local anesthesia and check if the cytological analysis is helpful to determine the hematological status. We found that erythroid hypoplasia occurred only in terminal CKD patients, and that the bone marrows of dogs with CKD stages 2 and 3 were quantitatively similar to those of elderly dogs. All dogs tolerated the bone marrow puncture using only local anesthesia with lidocaine and bone marrow cytological evaluation may be a useful tool for hematopoietic evaluation of anemic dogs with CKD.