Use of intraosseous blood for repeated hematologic and biochemical analyses in healthy pigs

Objective-To evaluate the clinical and histologic effects of repeated intra osseous (IO) needle placement in domestic pigs and determine whether blood and serum obtained intraosseously could be used for CBC and biochemical ana lyses. Animals-5 healthy 10-week-old pigs. Procedure-An IO needle was placed in the proximomedial region of the tibia of anesthetized pigs every other week for 2 months, and IO blood was obtain ed for CBC and serum biochemical analyses. Results were compared with those obtained for blood collected at the same rime from the auricular vein. Two weeks after the final samples were obtained, pigs were euthanatized and ti bias were processed for histologic examination. Results-Clinical abnormalities, including lameness, were not detected follo wing IO needle placement. Histologic examination revealed only mild multifo cal periosteal fibrosis and slight thickening of the periosteum without evi dence of osteomyelitis. Chloride, creatinine, glucose, total protein, sodiu m, and BUN concentrations, alanine transaminase and gamma glutamyl transpep tidase activities, RBC count, mean corpuscular volume, and Hct did not sign ificantly differ between IO and venous samples. However, aspartate transami nase activity, potassium, hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin conce ntrations, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and platelet and WBC counts were si gnificantly different. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance-Repeated placement of IO needles may be a safe and clinically useful method to obtain serial blood samples from dome stic pigs, particularly when other vascular sites are not accessible. Intra osseous blood can be used for many of the tests comprising CBC and serum bi ochemical analyses.