A prospective evaluation of oral Yunnan Baiyao therapy on thromboelastographic parameters in apparently healthy cats.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of Yunnan Baiyao (YB) on hemostatic parameters measured by thromboelastography (TEG) in apparently healthy cats administered 1 capsule of YB orally twice daily for 1 week. DESIGN: Prospective study of client-owned cats at a small animal specialty hospital. SETTING: One private referral center. ANIMALS: Twenty client-owned adult cats were prospectively enrolled. INTERVENTIONS: All cats underwent echocardiographic examination by the same board-certified cardiologist to rule out occult cardiomyopathy. Blood samples were collected for analysis of baseline CBC, fibrinogen, and kaolin-activated TEG values. Cats were administered 1 capsule (250 mg/capsule) of YB twice daily orally for 1 week and the physical examination, CBC, fibrinogen, and TEG were re-evaluated. Any side effects attributed to YB were noted at this time. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Three cats were excluded as 2 cats were identified with underlying cardiomyopathy and another cat had a cystic mass in the cranial mediastinum identified via echocardiography. Seventeen cats were treated with YB; however, 1 cat could not complete the study due to severe vomiting associated with YB administration. The remaining 16 cats completed the study, although 2 additional cats experienced transient vomiting. Yunnan Baiyao administration was associated with a significant decrease in HCT and red blood cell count, although no cat became anemic. None of the TEG parameters significantly changed compared to baseline after 1 week of YB therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest YB at a dose of 1 capsule orally twice daily in cats fails to produce any significant change in hemostatic parameters as measured by TEG, although it did significantly reduce HCT and red blood cell count. Yunnan Baiyao was tolerated for most of the cats, although 3 of 17 (17.6%) cats experienced vomiting. Clinicians should be aware of these effects before considering the use of YB in cats.

A prospective evaluation of oral Yunnan Baiyao therapy on thromboleastographic parameters in apparently healthy dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of Yunnan Baiyao (YB) on hemostatic parameters measured by thromboelastography (TEG) in healthy dogs administered 1 capsule of YB orally twice daily for 1 week. DESIGN: Prospective study of client-owned dogs at a small animal specialty hospital. SETTING: Private referral center. ANIMALS: Eighteen client-owned adult dogs weighing at least 15 kg. INTERVENTIONS: Dogs had a baseline TEG performed and then each dog was administered 1 capsule of YB twice daily by mouth for 1 week and the TEG was reevaluated. Any side effects attributed to YB were noted at this time. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: All 18 enrolled dogs completed the study. Dogs that received 1 capsule (250 mg/capsule) of YB orally twice daily had significantly increased G as well as A30 and A60 values. There was also a significantly decreased LY30 and LY60 values after 1 week. The YB appeared well tolerated as only one dog developed mild diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that YB at 1 capsule orally twice daily in healthy medium to large breed dogs increases the strength of the clot as measured by TEG and that YB was apparently well tolerated in the study population reported here. Larger prospective studies in different disease states are warranted to further evaluate these preliminary findings.