Svenja Allkämper:
Frequency, type and course of poisoning in veterinary practices - a Sentinel study Subject of this survey was exogenous poisoning in domestic animals as an acute disease after ingestion of a substance and species-dependent interaction in the body. Since there is no systematic data available so far, the aim of this survey was to provide an overview of currently significant poisoning in domestic animals.
In addition, the management of poisonings, to which options different methods to eliminate toxins as well as some specific antidotes are counted, and the outcome of this were planned to be recorded.
A research in current practical guides for different species of domestic animals, case reports from Germany and international respective studies shows above all a danger to dog and cat by a variety of anthropogenic substances in living together with
humans.
Pesticides, mainly coumarin derivatives, and medicines are besides foodstuffs, drinks and tobacco as well as chemicals most important in dogs. In cats the ingestion of pesticides, plants and chemicals is in addition to the exposure to applied drugs licked from the fur relevant. In farm animals are in the rare cases of management hazards at feeding, treatment and keeping often great numbers of animals affected, whereas in horses the knowledge and carefulness regarding toxic plants remains meaningful.
A research of toxicologic transmittals to the Veterinary University Hannover showed, that mostly samples from cases with severe to fatal intoxications were send in.
Beside the fact, that only coumarin derivates and inhibitors of the
acetylcholinesterase could be detected, it could be assumed that this was no generate conspectus of cases of intoxication presented in daily veterinary practice.
Given that intoxications can be assumed to happen mostly in small animals for the following survey 11 small animal practices, selected by region and size, were recruited. In the process cases of intoxication presented in daily practice should by recorded without influence on internal working process or diagnostic.
Summary
32 For this survey was the agreement for the retrospective analysis of two years of case files as well as the participation of the practicing vets at an annual prospective case survey essential.
It can be assumed, that characteristics influencing the willingness to invest time in a survey and to trust the investigator, while searching case reports in their own
practice, are also influencing practice management, so practice selection cannot be presumed representative.
The analysis of retrospective medical reports of two years referring to the underlying population of patients with at least one consultation throughout one year (contact group) showed, that 1 of 200 dogs and one of 500 cats is affected by a clinically relevant intoxication. This corresponds to a ratio of 73% dogs, 36% cats and 4%
small pets. Some breeds of hunting dogs where more often affected than their percentage in practice population would have counted for an in neutered dogs was the suspect of intoxication more often founded.
Main toxins were Coumarin derivates (37%), drugs (10%) and chocolate (7%).
The percentage of coumarin derivates was in practices with a rural catchment area even higher. In daily practice plays elimination within the period-of latency before a toxin shows an effect also a big role. The underlying population of patients consists of 32.000 patients with 48% dogs, 36% cats and 16% small pets.
Viewing of cases of suspicion with equal clinical picture in the retrospective survey showed that in cases with vomiting and bloody diarrhoea more often a gastroenteritis was present than an intoxication, whereas the suspect was mainly founded in cases with critical general condition and central nervous symptoms.
Investigation of the treatment pointed out that although recent recommendations asked for medical charcoal and the Intravenous Liquid Emulsion (ILE) in lipophile toxins get still much to less attention.
While searching for suspected cases of intoxication overestimation due to raised attention and counting of potential intoxications with symptomatically equal disease pattern as well as underestimation of cases, which are due to vomiting self-limiting and were recognised as gastroenteritis or not even presented to a veterinarian is possible.
Summary
33 Based on the retrospective evaluation, data entry forms were developed, which served after a test phase, the prospective collection of information on signalment, symptoms as well as the type, therapy and course of the poisonings. Cases with a pronounced clinical picture were recorded here, as, despite increased awareness, case reports were reduced due to lack of time and oblivion during the observation period. This illustrates the importance of intensive contact care during such a study.
The fact that about 76% of the ingested toxins come from the domestic environment of the animals shows once again the importance of the care of the owners for
possible harmful substances in the living environment of their animals.
Recent studies, such as McFarland et al. 2017a, and other recent international studies, do not provide systematic data on pet poisoning. Even in human medicine, national monitoring is still in preparation and previous reports by doctors according to a German law asking for reporting of human poisonings not seem to represent a real picture of cases of poisoning in humans. Previous calls for voluntary reporting of poisoning cases (McFarland et al. 2017b) have had little response and a multicentre study of an event as rare as poisoning appears to be little due to large personnel and financial costs. Therefore, the creation of an information platform on poisoning, in which information-seeking veterinarians enter their own cases with the help of a simple input mask on a voluntary basis, would be a possibility in the future to improve the data on poisoning.
Literaturverzeichnis
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