From:
AFERRETVET@cs.com
Date: 2001-05-23 19:20:00 UTC
Subject: [Ferret-Health-list]RE: calcium levels; blood tests,
etc.???
Hi Sonya,
Looks like they already answered most of your questions.
6) Yes, giving Nutrical or other sugar sources can elevate
the blood glucose level. That is why a fasting blood sample
is sometimes needed to confirm an insulinoma.
5) An elevated Lymphocyte count (3500 or more) or a
relative count greater than 60% of the white blood cell
count is common in lymphoma cases. A few of the
lymphoma cases will also have atypical lymphocytes
on a blood smear that can confirm lymphoma. Most of
the time, a biopsy or aspirate of a lymph node or abdominal organ
(spleen, liver, etc.) is needed to confirm lymphoma.
Yes, some cases of lymphoma will have completely
normal CBCs, and some will even have low lymphocyte counts.
However elevated lymphocyte counts are suspicious of
lymphoma, and a search for lymphoma is a wise thing to do
(aspirate spleen and/or liver; biopsy lymph node or spleen, etc).
Hope that helps,
Jerry Murray, DVM
PS I think Dr Williams will disagree with some of my
lymphoma comments.