Viscoelastic testing methods such as thromboelastography (TEG) are becoming increasingly available to veterinarians in a clinical setting. TEG is useful in determining therapeutic transfusion needs and assessing global abnormalities of hemostasis of patients, given that it provides a more comprehensive assessment of coagulation than traditional tests. TEG is standardly performed at 37°C, which is considered a normal body temperature for human patients; however, 37°C is lower than normal body temperature for most canine patients. In an in vitro study, we investigated the potential effect that this difference in body temperature and test temperature might have on TEG results. Citrated blood samples were collected from clinically normal, as well as sick, dogs with various body temperatures. Samples were analyzed concurrently at the patient’s body temperature and at 37°C. There was very high correlation between TEG performed at body temperature and at 37°C for R (min) and MA (mm), high correlation for K (min) and alpha angle (deg), and moderate correlation for LY30 (%) and LY60 (%). For canine patients with normal to mildly abnormal body temperatures, performance of TEG at the standard 37°C is acceptable.

在临床环境中，兽医越来越多地使用血栓弹力图 (TEG) 等粘弹性测试方法。TEG 在确定治疗性输血需求和评估患者止血的整体异常方面很有用，因为它提供了比传统测试更全面的凝血评估。TEG 通常在 37°C 下进行，这被认为是人类患者的正常体温；然而，对于大多数犬类患者来说，37°C 低于正常体温。在一项体外研究中，我们调查了体温和测试温度的这种差异可能对 TEG 结果产生的潜在影响。柠檬酸盐血液样本是从体温不同的临床正常和生病的狗身上采集的。在患者体温和 37°C 下同时分析样品。在体温和 37°C 下进行的 TEG 与 R (min) 和 MA (mm) 具有非常高的相关性，K (min) 和 α 角 (deg) 具有高度相关性，LY30 (%) 和LY60 (%)。对于体温正常至轻度异常的犬科患者，标准 37°C 下的 TEG 表现是可以接受的。