Antiepileptic drug therapy in companion animals: New perspectives on clinical pathology monitoring.

BACKGROUND

Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are widely used in companion animal medicine and are used long-term to treat a variety of epilepsy conditions. The use of these drugs can cause changes in routine tests.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the broad dimensions of hematological and biochemical changes induced by various AEDs in dogs and cats. Also, the distinction of these changes from actual pathologic alterations was considered.

METHODS

In this review, relevant articles were searched and selected from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Then, data related to the type of AEDs and hematological and biochemical changes in dogs and cats were extracted and qualitatively analyzed.

KEY FINDINGS: AEDs in dogs and cats can cause significant changes in laboratory parameters. The most common biochemical changes were liver-related, especially elevated liver enzymes, which in dogs were often adaptive. In contrast, in cats, these changes were less common but were of greater clinical significance. Hematological changes were less common, but in some cases, they included anemia or cytopenias. It was also found that the severity and type of changes depended on the drug type, treatment duration, and animal species. Ultimately, most of these changes were mild and manageable, but in some cases, they required further investigation or adjustment of treatment.

CONCLUSION

Based on the pattern of changes, their severity, the type of drug used, and the patient's clinical status, it is possible to distinguish between true pathological changes and drug-induced changes to a large extent. Conducting targeted studies and developing more precise protocols could improve this distinction and increase the accuracy of clinical decisions.