Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec;44(1):1-8.
doi: 10.1080/01652176.2024.2347926. Epub 2024 Jun 1.

Evaluation of clopidogrel, hypercoagulability, and platelet count in dogs undergoing splenectomy for splenic masses

Guk-Il Joung  1 , Jeong-Yeol Bae  1 , Jung-Il Kim  1 , Jin-Young Kim  1 , Joong-Hyun Song  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of clopidogrel, hypercoagulability, and platelet count in dogs undergoing splenectomy for splenic masses

Guk-Il Joung et al. Vet Q. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Dogs that had splenectomy are predisposed to fatal thrombotic conditions, and thrombocytosis is a risk factor for post-splenectomy hypercoagulability. However, in veterinary medicine, there are no specific therapeutic approaches for managing this hypercoagulability. This study aimed to determine the preventive effect of clopidogrel on post-operative hypercoagulability during the first 2 weeks post-splenectomy in dogs with splenic masses. This study included 12 dogs that had splenectomy. Seven dogs received no treatment (group A), and five were treated with clopidogrel (group B). Clopidogrel was loaded at 10 mg/kg on day 2 and continued at 2 mg/kg until day 14. Blood samples were collected on the day of surgery and 2, 7, and 14 days after splenectomy in both groups. In group B, thromboelastography (TEG) was performed on the same days. In group A, there was significant elevation of platelet counts on days 7 (p = 0.007) and 14 (p = 0.001) compared to day 0. In group B, the platelet counts were significantly elevated on day 7 (p = 0.032) but no significant difference was found on day 14 compared to day 0. Platelet counts on day 14 were significantly higher in group A than in group B (p = 0.03). The lower platelet counts were correlated with alterations in TEG parameters, and no significant differences were found in the K and α-angle values at all postoperative assessment points compared to day 0. Our study suggests that clopidogrel may reduce post-operative thrombocytosis and hypercoagulability in dogs that undergo splenectomy for splenic masses.

Keywords: Clopidogrel; dog; hypercoagulability; splenectomy; thrombocytosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Box-and-Whisker plots of platelet counts on the day of surgery (day 0) and 2, 7, and 14 days after splenectomy in groups A (A) and B (B). The boxes indicate the interquartile ranges (25th–75th percentile), and lines within the boxes indicate the median values. Whiskers indicate either 1.5 times the interquartile range or the range limit for the data, whichever is less. The light blue horizontal band within each plot indicates the reference range. Asterisks indicate days when platelet counts were significantly different (p < 0.05) from that of day 0.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Box-and-Whisker plots of thromboelastography parameters (A; K value, B; α-angle value, C; maximum amplitude [MA], D; G value) on the day of surgery (day 0) and 2, 7, and 14 days after splenectomy in group B. The boxes indicate the interquartile ranges (25th–75th percentile), and lines within the boxes indicate median values. Whiskers indicate either 1.5 times the interquartile range or the range limit for the data, whichever is less. The light blue horizontal band within each plot indicates the reference range. Asterisks indicate days when values for the thromboelastography parameters were significantly different (p < 0.05) from those of day 0.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Scatterplot showing the relationship between platelet counts and thromboelastography parameters (A; K value, B; α-angle value, C; maximum amplitude [MA], D; G value) for 14 days in group B. The correlation (r) and associated statistical significance (P-value) are displayed at the top of each graph.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Bennett CL, Connors JM, Carwile JM, Moake JL, Bell WR, Tarantolo SR, McCarthy LJ, Sarode R, Hatfield AJ, Feldman MD, et al. . 2000. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura associated with clopidogrel. N Engl J Med. 342(24):1773–1777. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200006153422402. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bestwick JP, Skelly BJ, Swann JW, Glanemann B, Bexfield N, Gkoka Z, Walker DJ, Silvestrini P, Adamantos S, Seth M, et al. . 2022. Splenectomy in the management of primary immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and primary immune-mediated thrombocytopenia in dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 36(4):1267–1280. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16469. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brainard BM, Kleine SA, Papich MG, Budsberg SC.. 2010. Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic evaluation of clopidogrel and the carboxylic acid metabolite SR 26334 in healthy dogs. Am J Vet Res. 71(7):822–830. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.71.7.822. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Buzelé R, Barbier L, Sauvanet A, Fantin B.. 2016. Medical complications following splenectomy. J Visc Surg. 153(4):277–286. doi: 10.1016/j.jviscsurg.2016.04.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cadili A, de Gara C.. 2008. Complications of splenectomy. Am J Med. 121(5):371–375. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2008.02.014. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Education, under Grant RS-2023-0021971031482092640001.
-