Prevalence of ocular lesions in cats with anaemia and thrombocytopenia

ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the association of anaemia and thrombocytopenia with the presence and severity of ocular lesions in cats.MethodsCats were prospectively recruited into four groups in this cross-sectional study: anaemic (A) (haematocrit level ⩽24%, n = 20), thrombocytopenic (T) (platelet count of ⩽200 × 10⁹/l, n = 10), anaemic and thrombocytopenic (AT) (n = 33) and healthy controls (C) (n = 20). All cats underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination, with lesions classified as absent, minor (isolated retinal haemorrhages) or major (diffuse retinal haemorrhages, hyphaema or intravitreal bleeding). Signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic test results and final diagnoses were collected from the medical records.ResultsOcular lesion prevalence was 20%, 10%, 48% and 0% in the A, T, AT and C groups, respectively. Among affected cats, minor and major lesions occurred in 67% and 33% of cases, respectively. All major lesions were observed in groups T and AT. Anaemia and thrombocytopenia were significantly associated with both the presence (<i>P</i>_anaemia = .001, <i>P</i>_{thrombocytopenia} = .002) and severity (<i>P</i>_anaemia <.001, <i>P</i>_{thrombocytopenia} = .006) of ocular lesions. A haematocrit value of ≤18.5% had a sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 58% for detecting ocular lesions.Conclusions and relevanceAnaemia and thrombocytopenia were significantly associated with the presence and severity of ocular lesions in cats in this study. Cats with concurrent anaemia and thrombocytopenia exhibited a higher prevalence of ocular lesions than those with either condition alone. This finding warrants further investigation into potential underlying mechanisms. Based on these results, any cat presenting with anaemia or thrombocytopenia should undergo a complete ophthalmic examination.