Whole Blood Viscosity Reference Intervals and Its Correlation with Hematology and Serum Chemistry in Cats Using Scanning Capillary Method

Abstract

Simple Summary Blood viscosity, an essential hemorheological parameter, signifies the inherent resistance encountered during blood circulation within blood vessels. Assessing whole blood viscosity stands as an early diagnostic modality for an array of vascular conditions, encompassing cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and microvascular ailments. Given the intricate challenge of early-stage diagnosis using conventional blood tests, blood viscosity emerges as a tool to gauge disease susceptibility. Recently, scanning capillary viscometers that can obtain blood viscosity values for a wide range of shear rates through a single measurement have been widely used. Using this, this study aimed to establish reference intervals in cats, representative companion animals, for further hemorheological study and the veterinary clinical field. The outcomes of this study yield essential reference intervals for normal whole blood viscosity in healthy feline subjects, encompassing a wide range of shear rates that hitherto lacked comprehensive establishment.Abstract Whole blood viscosity, a hemorheological factor, is currently used for diagnosis, as it is correlated with various vascular diseases that are difficult to diagnose early with a general blood test. It was determined that it was necessary to set reference intervals for further studies and utilization of whole blood viscosity in cats, a representative companion animal, and this study was conducted. Fifty healthy cats were recruited for the study, and whole blood viscosity, complete blood count, and serum chemistry tests were performed. The reference intervals of whole blood viscosity were 15.169 to 43.684 cP at a shear rate of 1 s-1 reflecting diastole, and 3.524 to 5.544 cP at a shear rate of 300 s-1 reflecting systole. Red blood cells, hematocrit, hemoglobin, white blood cells, and neutrophils in the complete blood count, and total protein, albumin, globulin, and cholesterol in the serum chemistry were significantly correlated with whole blood viscosity. The results of this study set the reference intervals of whole blood viscosity for healthy cats in a wide shear rate range that has not yet been fully established, and its correlation with other blood indicators investigated.