Platelet Indices in Male and Female German Shepherd Dogs in the Sudan

The objectives of this study are to find reference values for German shepherd dog reared in Sudan, evaluate the effects of sex on platelet parameters, correlations between platelets indices. Thirty three healthy dogs aged between 2 to 4 years of the breed German shepherd in the Sudan were categorized into two sex groups (14males, 19 females) were used in this study.Five ml Blood samples were taken from cephalic vein and analysis was performed using the Sysmex KX2 hematology analyzer. The following parameters were evaluated: platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet crit (PCT), and platelet distribution width (PDW), along with parallel red blood cell parameters. The overall mean values of platelet parameter were: PLT 183.52± 59.97 (×10 9 /L), MPV 9.19±0.96ƒl, PCT 0.13±0.09% and PDW15.61±0.90%. Significant sex differences were observed for platelet count and red cell distribution width (P≤0.05) between male and female. Significant (P≤0.01) correlation was found between PLT and PCT in female and the over all, No significant correlations between PLT and MPV, PDW in the two sexes, moreover, significant correlations (P≤0.01) were observed between PDW and RBC, MCV, and RDW in the over all. However, no significant correlations were detected between RBC and PLT, PCT, and PCV in all dogs. Effect of sex should be considered in clinical interpretation of dog platelet variables. Determined reference values may be useful information for an increasing clinical use