Assessment of anemia in azotemic dogs and its therapeutic management

Azotemic dogs, with impaired kidney function leading to renal insufficiency or failure, are particularly susceptible to developing anemia due to a multitude of factors, mainly erythropoietin deficiency. In this study, 20 azotemic dogs with anemia were evaluated over a 14 day period and their therapeutic management was carried out. Through systematic analysis of hematobiochemical parameters, it was found that anemia in azotemic dogs is predominantly non-regenerative in nature and presents as normocytic and normochromic type of anemia. Treatment protocol employing Darbepoetin and iron supplementation significantly improved hematological parameters. The findings highlighted the importance of early diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to enhance the quality of life and prognosis in azotemic dogs suffering from anemia. Hematological examination showed significantly (p<0.05) increased values of Hb (g/dl), TEC (×l0⁶/cmm), PCV (%) in post treatment values compared to pre-treatment.