Red blood cell count decreased

[Hope]

Hello
On July 11th Litas count was at 28% but as of yesterday I am told 23%. The only change is 7 days ago changed from atopica to cyclosporine. Could this be the cause?

[Hope]

Just found out that Lita has UTI.. starting antibiotics.
She is 62 pounds and takes 300mg cyclosporine a day..last level test was below range so adding drug ketoconozole that helps cyclosporine to stay in the system longer without having to up the dose.. doctor suspects change from atopica to cyclo has caused the decrease in red blood cells.. bodyis makung blood which is good.. the low cyclo level was when she was on atopica..

[Vally]

Hi Hope, what is Lita taking for the UTI?

[Hope]

Thank you for responding..

Until culture comes back she is on Zeniqien 100mg once a day and Amoxi clavulanate 1/2 pill every 12 hours.. 875mg / 125mg tablet ..

In reference to falling red blood cell count possibly due to changing from Atopica to Generic Neoral She is now taking ketoconazole to increase cyclosporine ..Ketoconazole 100mg a day.. cyclosporine 150mg morning and night..
Have you seen adjustments having to be made when switching from Atopica to Generic?

[Vally]

Hope, please be aware that our dogs should not be on particular drugs, and the most important ones to avoid are cephalosporins, sulfa drugs & penicillins.

Sometimes it can’t be avoided and the drug is the only one that will work with the infection at the time.

Can you double check with the vet that the drugs, particularly the Amoxi clavulanate is safe? We generally use doxycycline for UTIs, which is a safe antibiotic for our AIHA dogs.

In Australia, the only one I used, directly from the vet, and then subsequently by prescription was Neoral. As Patrice mentioned, there should not be any difference, but you can always change back if you feel it is the drug. I think the fact that there is a UTI is more likely to be the reason for the drop in the red blood count.

Regards,

Regards, Vally

[Hope]

Hello
I will double check with the doctor about amoxi. What is it about penicillin based drugs that can cause problems?
She is on generic Neoral. Mostly what I read should be okay. He did add the ketoconazole since her cyclo levels came back low.
I can say since the antibiotics and Ketoconozile her appetite is better and she seems happier. I expect labs to be good buy her actions.

[Hope]

Oh I wanted to ask how would infection cause drop in red blood cells? Is it because infection causes more white cells?
The doctor did mention that infectionit could be a factor but I didn’t have a chance to ask how..

[Vally]

Hope, I honestly don’t know why certain drugs can’t be used other than it can trigger another episode or relapse. Patrice may have an answer, but read this as to drugs which our dogs are more susceptible to:

https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/drugsantibiotics-can-trigger-aiha

It’s a huge list, but just confirming the most important ones to avoid are the cephalosporins, sulfa drugs & penicillins. I remember my specialist gave me a list and I carried this in my bag always and whenever I took Bingo to the vet for anything, and they were about to treat him for something, I would pull out the list to double check that the drug was not on the list.

Again, as I mentioned, sometimes you can’t avoid one of these as they must be used, but whenever possible, they are not used.

Also our dogs should never be immunised again – unless required by law and you can’t get an exception rule, for example, rabies. I know in USA that may be a requirement in some states. Hearworm is different, if you are in a heartworm area, they must receive regular heartworm preventative, but we all recommend Dr Dodd’s protocol on that. You’ll find that here:

https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/hemopetresources

As to the drop in PCV with an infection, again, I can’t answer that medically. It’s more experience on this site – when a dog has an infection, it’s not unusual to see a drop in the PCV.

Regards, Vally