Complete remission of associative immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in a dog following surgical resection of intestinal leiomyosarcoma

Abstract

A twelve-year-old male castrated Chihuahua with a severe, microcytic, hypochromic, and nonregenerative direct antiglobulin test positive anemia characterized by marked spherocytosis was referred to the veterinary hospital. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a peritoneal mass of unclear origin. Transfusion, followed by mass resection, rapidly resolved the anemia without further immunosuppressive treatment. Histopathology confirmed extraluminal jejunal leiomyosarcoma. Multiple mechanisms, including immune-mediated destruction, likely contributed to the anemia. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report that describes the resolution of immune-mediated hemolysis in a dog after the removal of an intestinal neoplasm.