Comparison of different anticoagulant associations on haemostasis and biochemical analyses in feline blood specimens

ObjectivesUniversal anticoagulant could be an alternative to the multiple blood sampling required for clinical pathology investigations in cats. An association of citrate, theophylline, adenosine and dipyridamole (CTAD) has been reported to be a good substitute for EDTA for haematology analysis in cats, limiting platelet clumping, and has also been shown to be valid for haematology, secondary haemostasis and some biochemical variables in humans. The aim of the study was therefore to investigate the effects of CTAD on in vitro platelet aggregation and compare results of secondary haemostasis and biochemistry tests, excluding a priori those variables not reliably measured in CTAD, such as sodium, chloride and divalent cations, in feline blood specimens collected in CTAD and paired citrate and heparin tubes.MethodsThirty blood specimens sampled in citrate and CTAD were analysed for in vitro platelet aggregation, and 60 blood specimens sampled in citrate or heparin and CTAD were analysed for plasma coagulatio...