title: Assessment of coagulation utilizing thromboelastometry in dogs undergoing orthopedic surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate blood coagulation using thromboelastometry in dogs following orthopedic surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University veterinary teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four adult client-owned dogs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dogs undergoing elective or emergency orthopedic surgery had whole blood collected before (T0), at 24 hours (T1), and 1 week (T2) after surgery. Whole blood from each dog was collected by jugular venipuncture using a 20-Ga needle and minimum venous stasis. The blood was placed into tubes containing 3.8% trisodium citrate (1 part citrate: 9 parts blood) and rested at 37°C. Coagulation was evaluated by means of thromboelastometry using the in-TEM, ex-TEM, and fib-TEM assays. Statistically significant increases (P < 0.05) in maximum clot firmness (MCF) from T0 to T1 in the in-TEM and fib-TEM profiles (both P = 0.0001), from T0 to T2 in the in-TEM, ex-TEM, and fib-TEM profiles (P = 0.012, P = 0.037, and P = 0.0001, respectively), and from T1 to T2 in the fib-TEM profile (P = 0.039) were noted. The α angle increased from T0 to T2 in the in-TEM and ex-TEM profiles (P = 0.019 and P = 0.036, respectively). All results were, however, within the institutional reference ranges.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, unlike the hypercoagulability observed in human orthopedic patients, a hypercoagulable state as measured by thromboelastometry did not develop in dogs following orthopedic surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, Clinical Medicine Section, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.affiliation: the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristiana
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maurella
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, Clinical Medicine Section, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Falco
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, Clinical Medicine Section, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tarducci
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, Clinical Medicine Section, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zanatta
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, Clinical Medicine Section, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gianella
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, Clinical Medicine Section, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Angelo
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, Clinical Medicine Section, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.affiliation: Vets Now Referral, Kent, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Bella
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, Clinical Medicine Section, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borrelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003422:Critical Care; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000662:veterinary*; D012016:Reference Values; D013916:Thrombelastography / Q000662:veterinary*; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D014730:Veterinary Medicine
keywords: ROTEM; dogs; hypercoagulability; viscoelastic coagulation