Association of serum magnesium with haematological health indices in dogs

Magnesium (Mg) is the second most abundant trace element in the body of both humans and animals and is an essential element for health.  Hypomagnaesemia and hypermagnaesemia have been reported to be common occurrences in critically ill patients and were postulated to determine the prognosis of disease. This study was designed to ascertain the relationship between haematological health indices and serum Mg levels. A total of 103 dogs from the ‘dog market ‘of Jos, Plateau State were sampled. Blood was collected for complete blood count (CBC) using  standard manual procedures: Serum protein analysis was by the biuret colorimetric method, while serum Mg levels were determined with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Result showed that anaemic dogs (PCV < 35 %) had significantly (p<0.05) lower serum Mg (1.9 ± 0.15 mg/dL) than non-anaemic (PCV ≥ 35 %) dogs (2.6 ± 0.12 mg/dL). Dogs with regenerative anaemia (corrected reticulocyte count ≥ 1%) had significantly (p<0.05) lower serum Mg (2.3 ± 0.19 mg/dL) than dogs with non-regenerative anaemia (2.8 ± 0.12 mg/dL). Dogs with thrombocytopenia had significantly  (p<0.05) lower serum Mg (2.00 ± 0.16 mg/dL) than those with normal platelet counts (2.94 ± 0.12 mg/dL). Animals with marked leukopenia, mild neutropenia and marked lymphopenia had significantly (p<0.05) lower serum Mg levels. In conclusion, dogs with poor haematological health indices; low PCV, low platelet counts, low lymphocyte counts and low serum protein were associated with significantly lower serum Mg levels. Keywords: Dogs, Haematological health indices, Serum magnesium, Blood disorder