July 20 Severe Anemia Identified

Following initial stabilization, Patient 26-519 underwent a comprehensive veterinary examination.

She remained quiet but alert and continued to be significantly underweight. Her mucous membranes were notably pale, and she continued to show evidence of dehydration. Again, no significant traumatic injuries were identified.

A complete series of radiographs allowed the veterinary team to examine her lungs and internal organs more closely.

Changes involving the lung and air-sac region raised concern for inflammation, pneumonia or fungal disease. An unusual appearance of one kidney also warranted further investigation.

Blood samples were collected for a comprehensive diagnostic workup.

Some testing could be performed immediately at Ojai Raptor Center, while additional samples were submitted to outside diagnostic laboratories for blood chemistry, white blood cell evaluation and toxicology screening.

One result immediately became a major concern.

Her packed cell volume, or PCV, was approximately 10%.

PCV measures the percentage of blood made up of red blood cells. In a healthy Bald Eagle, we would generally expect this value to be above 30%.

Patient 26-519 was severely anemic. Her blood protein was also low. (It mainly indicates that important proteins in her body were low, likely from not having adequate nutrition, which also made balancing her fluids within her system difficult and could cause her to lose more fluids through other ways, like through urates in her GI tract to try to balance her protein levels.)

These findings significantly changed the priorities of the case. The veterinary team now needed to determine why she had so few circulating red blood cells while simultaneously treating her for severe anemia.

Treatment was adjusted to address several possible causes, including infectious disease, while additional laboratory results were pending.

Because of the severity of the anemia, Ojai Raptor Center also began contacting facilities caring for Bald Eagles to prepare for the possibility that she might require a blood transfusion.

Her diagnostic images were shared with outside specialists for additional review, beginning what would become an increasingly collaborative medical investigation.