Management of Toxicoses Flashcards
What are the 3 typical scenarios in suspected toxicoses?
- animal has been exposed to a known toxicant
- animal has been exposed to an unknown substance that may be a toxicant
- animal displays signs of disease of an undetermined cause for which toxicosis must be considered as part of the differential diagnosis
What are the 5 steps to diagnosing toxicosis?
- obtain a complete history (onset, indoor/outdoor, information on toxic agent, home environment)
- perform a complete physical examination
- perform an exposure assessment to calculate dose-resonse and exposure assessment
- consider clinical signs and clinical pathologic findings
- sample collection and toxicology testing
(+/- postmortem examination/sampling and bioassay)
How should toxicologic samples be held and used?
hold until the results of other tests (clinical pathology, histopathology, bacteriology) are available to allow for focused toxicologic testing
What are the 5 most diagnostically useful samples for toxicological assessment? How should they be stored/shipped?
- gastric contents (vomitus, lavage) - frozen
- fecal material - frozen
- urine - frozen
- serum - separated from clot promptly and frozen
- blood - refrigerated
How should liver, kidney, brain, lung, food source/material, and water be stored and shipped for toxicological testing?
LIVER = frozen
KIDNEY = frozen
BRAIN = frozen
LUNG = frozen
FOOD = dry material should be kept dry at room temperature; moist material should be frozen
WATER = refrigerated
What are the AMCs of emergency care?
A = AIRWAY = check for airway patency/obstruction
B = BREATHING = check for signs of ineffective breathing, like apnea, stertor, stridor, hyperpnea, hypopnea, and agonal breathing (gasping)
C = CIRCULATION = assess mucous membrane color, CRT, heart rate, pulse quality and rhythm, and peripheral temperature for blood supply
What is triage? What 4 organ systems are included?
quick evaluation of 4 organ systems to determine whether the patient can be categorized as stable or unstable (less than 5 mins)
- CARDIOVASCULAR - heart rate, mucouse membrane color, CRT, pulse quality and rhythm
- RESPIRATORY - airway patency, respiration rate
- CNS - gait, level of consciousness, pupil size and position
- RENAL - abdominal palpation for obstruction
What are the 5 levels of conciousness?
- alert = normal
- depressed = quiet, but responds to stimuli
- obtunded = minimally responds to stimuli
- stuporous = only responds to pain
- comatose = no response to any stimuli
What 3 drugs are commonly given to control seizures and muscle tremors commonly caused by toxicosis? What other situations must be controlled?
Diazepam, Pentobarbital, Methocarbamol
- control exsanguinating hemorrhage
- assess metabolic derangements (acidosis, alkalosis)
- perform decontamination
- provide supportive and symptomatic care
- antidote therapy
When is decontamination needed for toxicosis? What is the goal?
oral, inhalation, dermal, and ocular exposures
minimize exposure to potentially toxic substances by preventing/minimalizing absorption and enhancing elimination
How should personnel properly protect themselves during decontamination?
wear PPE - gloves, aprons, or other water-resistant clothing and eye protection
How does oral decontaminationg done? When is it most useful?
induce vomiting (emesis) to remove potentially harmful substances from the stomach
within 30-90 mins of ingestion
In what 6 situations is it contraindicated to induce emesis?
- weakened or severely ill patients
- ingestion of caustic substances or hydrocarbons that could aspirate into lungs
- patients with altered levels of consciousness
- ingestion that took place a long time ago
- unknown toxicant
- animals that don’t vomit (rodents, horses, rabbits)
What emetics are used in dogs and cats? What 4 things are not recommended?
DOGS - hydrogen peroxide, Apomorphine
CATS - Xylazine, Dexmedetomidine, Midazolam/Hydromorphone
- liquid dishwashing detergent - intestinal damage
- powdered mustard - intestinal damage
- syrup of ipecac
- salt - sodium toxicosis
What is the most common dilutent used during toxicosis? How does it work?
water
diltes and makes ingested compounds less irritating
How can milk and liquid antacids be used as dilutents?
soothes and coats damaged mucous membrane surfaces while diluting the compound
Why should the amount of dilutent given to patients be limited?
reduces the risk of excessive distention of the stomach that can lead to unwanted vomiting and aspiration
How can activated charcoal be used to treat toxicosis? When are repeated doses necessary?
acts as an adsorbent that binds most organic compounts, reducing their absorption and facilitating their elimination in feces
toxicants that undergo enterohepatic recirculation
How do cathartics work? What are the 3 types?
enhance elimination of toxicants by moving them through the GI tract more quickly
- bulk cathartics
- osmotic cathartics
- saline cathartics
How do bulk cathartics work? What are 3 examples?
have high fiber content to retain water in the lower GI and produce bulkier stools
- psyllium (Metamucil)
- canned pumpkine
- whole grain bread