Use of lithium carbonate in the treatment of a suspected case of oestrogen-induced bone marrow aplasia in a bitch

Human beings undergoing lithium treatment present leucocytosis as a side effect, and studies have shown that it has a stimulatory effect on myelopoiesis, increasing the number of pluripotent stem cells, granulocyte-macrophage progenitors and megakaryocytes in bone marrow cultures ( McGrath and others 1987 ). Treatment with 10 mg/kg lithium carbonate (Carbolitium; Eurofarma), orally, twice a day, was initiated four days after the first evaluation, when the dog's white blood cell count reached less than 900 white blood cells/μl. Three days later the dog's packed cell volume was 0·13 l/l and it received a whole blood transfusion following crossmatching.