Blood Testing
Our pre-anaesthetic blood tests are offered for all patients, however with age, the likelihood of problems and risks of anaesthesia increase and therefore blood tests are strongly recommended at 7 years of age and older. Some problems may not be obvious on physical examination and are able to be detected on blood tests before animals become sick.
The blood tests have two main panels:
Full Blood Count
- Red blood cells – checking for anaemia. If severe then surgery may be delayed or blood transfusions may be required
- White blood cells – checking for evidence of inflammation or infection
- Platelets – if these levels are too low then there may be potentially life threatening clotting abnormalities, in which case, surgery may need to be delayed
Biochemistry
- Kidneys – levels may be affected by kidney disease, dehydration or obstruction of the urinary tract. If severe then anaesthesia may need to be delayed and extra intravenous fluids may be required, or anaesthesia may be cancelled entirely
- Liver – is important for metabolising anaesthetic drugs
- Glucose – to check for diabetes
- Protein levels
