Acepromazine is a derivative of chlorpromazine which is useful as a veterinary research tool. It has been shown to decrease packed cell volume, a.k.a. hematocrit, a measurement of the proportion of blood that is made up of cells.
Coagulopathy is a common issue in equine illness and requires proper attention and management. Recognizing, predicting, and treating abnormal coagulation is essential. Recently, an equine study made use of acepromazine as a research tool in a study of coagulopathy.
The study involved eight healthy horses and intravenous administration of acepromazine to induce anemia. Several viscoelastic parameters were then evaluated in order to establish the relationship between blood cell mass, hypercoagulability, and hypocoagulability. Understanding these relationship dynamics is essential to correctly interpreting and test results that are produced by an anemic subject.
The results showed acepromazine to be successful in inducing anemia in this model, and showed a connection between red blood cell mass and hypercoagulability. Although this study was limited in size, it does confirm the very different testing profiles found in anemic versus polycythemic subjects. Further studies could increase the understanding and develop appropriate reference ranges expected under these conditions.
Mersich I, Bishop R, Yucupicio S, et al. Decreased circulating red blood cell mass induced by intravenous acepromazine administration alters viscoelastic and traditional plasma coagulation testing results in healthy horses. Animals (Basel). 2024 Oct 28;14(21):3102. PMID: 39518825