Erythrocyte sedimentation rate in canine leishmaniosis diagnosis: A new resource

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in Leishmania infantum-seropositive dogs compared with healthy dogs and to assess the existence of a correlation between ESR and clinical form of Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) as well as acute phase proteins (APPs). From October 2021 to January 2022, dogs were recruited in this study if L. infantum-seropositive by enzyme-linked immunoassay and classified as exposed or affected by a CanL active form based on physical examination, clinical score, and laboratory results [i.e., complete blood count, biochemical panel such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum ferritin, serum protein electrophoresis, and fibrinogen concentration measurement]. To evaluate the ESR of the dogs, a point-of-care device was used with a reference interval of 0–10 mm/h. Moreover, the ESR evaluation has been also performed in clinically healthy dogs, as control group. Thirty-six L. infantum-seropositive dogs [i.e., exposed (n = 10) and affected by CanL active form (n = 26)] were included in the study. Twenty-two healthy dogs were also enrolled. The mean value of ESR in dogs affected by a CanL active form was significantly higher than in exposed and healthy dogs (p < 0.0001). The ESR level was increased in 92% of dogs with CanL active form while positive APPs such as CRP, fibrinogen, and serum ferritin were increased only in 46, 48, and 58% of the animals, respectively. In exposed dogs, the ESR level was increased in 40% of cases. In dogs with active form, a significant positive correlation between ESR and total proteins, globulins, CRP, and fibrinogen, as well as a significant negative correlation between ESR and hematocrit, hemoglobin, and albumin/globulin ratio were detected. This study provides for the first-time data on ESR in L. infantum-seropositive dogs demonstrating dogs affected by a CanL active form have the highest ESR level and the majority of these dogs presented an increased ESR compared with exposed and healthy dogs. The evaluation of ESR by a point-of-care device proved to be a simple, inexpensive, and ready-to-use benchtop tool and ESR can be considered a helpful and timely inflammatory biomarker for the diagnosis of a CanL active form.

Clinical and Clinico-Pathological Observations of the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate in Dogs Affected by Leishmaniosis and Other Inflammatory Diseases

“…The ESR is now being used again in veterinary medicine after a long period when it had been almost completely abandoned in favor of other inflammatory markers [4][5][6]. In fact, the ESR has been reported in papers dealing with canine osteoarthritis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, leishmaniosis, heartworm disease and also for other common health conditions in dogs [7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…The adoption of this semi-automatic system brings numerous advantages, in addition to the reduction in the analysis times, such as a decrease in the costs of the sampling devices, the blood volume necessary for the test and the use of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulant blood that makes it possible to employ the whole blood sample withdrawn for other hematology tests. Two recent published papers in 2022 and 2024 adopted this modified ESR assay [10,11].…”

Prospective Application of the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) as a Possible Inflammatory Marker in Feline Patients

“…However, during inflammation, alteration of plasma protein composition, with the proportional increase of acute phase proteins, especially fibrinogen, causes an alteration in the electric charges, and the RBCs tend to attach to each other, causing an increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) [ 2 ]. In veterinary medicine, the ESR has been correlated with the mainly used acute phase proteins in dogs (i.e., C-reactive protein and fibrinogen) [ 3 , 4 ]. In dogs, the ESR has been widely evaluated as an inflammatory marker as well as a monitoring parameter in various conditions, such as babesiosis, ehrlichiosis [ 5 , 6 ], osteoarthritis [ 7 ], and leishmaniasis [ 4 ].…”

“…In veterinary medicine, the ESR has been correlated with the mainly used acute phase proteins in dogs (i.e., C-reactive protein and fibrinogen) [ 3 , 4 ]. In dogs, the ESR has been widely evaluated as an inflammatory marker as well as a monitoring parameter in various conditions, such as babesiosis, ehrlichiosis [ 5 , 6 ], osteoarthritis [ 7 ], and leishmaniasis [ 4 ]. In addition, the ESR has been positively correlated with the most frequently used inflammatory proteins, such as fibrinogen and C-reactive protein [ 3 , 4 ].…”

“…In dogs, the ESR has been widely evaluated as an inflammatory marker as well as a monitoring parameter in various conditions, such as babesiosis, ehrlichiosis [ 5 , 6 ], osteoarthritis [ 7 ], and leishmaniasis [ 4 ]. In addition, the ESR has been positively correlated with the most frequently used inflammatory proteins, such as fibrinogen and C-reactive protein [ 3 , 4 ]. However, the main limitations of using the standard Westergren method for routine and clinical purposes were the high volume of blood required and the long-lasting turn-around time [ 8 ].…”