Evaluation of Haemostasis in Dogs Affected by Resectable Malignancy

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In human cancer patients, recent studies have focused on identifying hypercoagulability, which was observed before surgery and may occur after surgery and persist postoperatively. Even in veterinary medicine, dogs with neoplasms may be hypercoagulable and considered to be at risk for thrombosis. The aim of this study was to observe the characteristics of haemostasis in dogs undergoing surgery for the removal of malignancies using tools that allow a more comprehensive assessment of coagulation (rotational thromboelastometry and thrombin generation). Haemostasis was evaluated immediately before surgery (T0), 24 h after surgery (T1), and two weeks after surgery (T2). Statistically significant differences were found between some rotational thromboelastometry parameters at T0 vs. T1 and at T1 vs. T2, indicating a trend towards hypercoagulability 24 h after surgery and a reversal of the trend 2 weeks after surgery. The results of this study observed a transient influence of surgery on haemostasis and may help us to understand how long anticoagulant treatment should be administered in these dogs. ABSTRACT: Dogs with neoplasm are at risk of thrombosis, yet there is no information on the haemostatic alterations that may result from the surgeries performed to remove neoplastic masses. The aim of this study was to observe the characteristics of haemostasis in dogs undergoing surgery to remove a malignancy by means of rotational thromboelastometry and thrombin generation. Haemostasis was assessed immediately before surgery (T0), 24 h after surgery (T1), and two weeks after surgery (T2). Statistically significant differences were found between the thromboelastometric parameters at T0 vs. T1, with increases observed in MCF, the α angle, and G parameters in the ex-TEM and in-TEM profiles. In the thromboelastometric analysis performed after surgery differences were identified between T1 and T2, with a decrease observed in parameters such as CFT, MCF, the α angle, and G. Between T0 and T2, only a significant decrease in CT was detected in the fib-TEM profile. No differences were found in the comparison among the results obtained via thrombin generation. In dogs with resectable malignancies, the surgeries performed to remove cancer affected coagulation, causing a tendency towards hypercoagulability. The interference with coagulation was transient, and 2 weeks after surgery, the thromboelatometric results returned to those obtained before surgery (T0).