Efficacy of filgrastim in canine parvoviral enteritis accompanied by severe leukopenia

Canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE) is a common, highly contagious viral disease characterized by severe hemorrhagic gastroenteritis in dogs. Leukopenia and neutropenia in dogs with parvoviral enteritis are considered negative prognostic indicators. This study aimed to investigate the effect of filgrastim [recombinant methionyl human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (r-metHuG-CSF)] on leukocyte counts in dogs with parvoviral enteritis. The animal material consisted of thirty-seven owned dogs with parvoviral enteritis from various breeds, which were brought to the Small Animal Clinic of the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University. The dogs included in the study were divided into two groups. The first group received standard treatment (ST=18) and the second group received Filgrastim (ST+Filg=19) in addition to the standard treatment. For the assessment of leukocyte counts, blood samples were taken on day 0 (before starting treatment), day 3, and day 5 after treatment. It was observed that 16 out of the nineteen dogs treated with Filgrastim in addition to standard treatment (84.21%) showed improvement. In the ST+Filg group, the median WBC and neutrophil values on the 5th day after treatment were significantly higher than on the 0th day (P=0.001, P=0.006, respectively). In addition, the median WBC, lymphocyte and neutrophil values of the dogs in the ST+Filg group on the 3rd and 5th days after treatment were found to be significantly higher than the same day measurements of the ST group (P