Changes of rabbits’ red blood cell counts in experimentally-induced pulmonary embolism confirmed using scintigraphy

The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in red blood cell counts after experimentally induced pulmonary embolism in rabbits which was confirmed by scintigraphy. Red blood cell count is important in health and diseases because these cells transfer oxygen from lung to tissues. One of the practical methods for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism is scintigraphy. Twelve adult male rabbits were selected. A group of six rabbits was used as control. In another group of six rabbits pulmonary embolism was experimentally induced by injection of autologous blood clots through right jugular vein. Pulmonary embolisms were confirmed by scintigraphy operations. At 0, 30, 60 min, 24, 48 and 72 hours after induced pulmonary embolism, blood samples were collected from rabbits of both groups and the red blood cell counts were determined. The technetium was milked from molybdenum- technetium generator and then added to macroaggregated albumin (MAA) kit.  In all rabbits, 1.5 mCi of prepared 99mTC–MAA was injected into the marginal ear vein. In control group, 1ml of normal saline was injected via the margin ear vein. In this study, increases in red blood cell counts of the diseased rabbits were observed in the first and second days. These counts returned to normal status in the third day. These changes may reflect the performance of the body's immune system and response of physical reflexes to reduce the complications of pulmonary embolism. Therefore it is recommended that in patients with pulmonary embolism, more attention to red blood cell counts is required due to their specific performance along with other measurements.