Diagnosis and Treatment

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

Diagnosis

  • Acute toxicosis is diagnosed based on history of exposure, appropriate clinical signs.
  • Brain analysis is important for diagnosis of acute toxicosis.
  • Half of the frozen brain should be submitted for analysis.
  • The other half should be fixed for histopathology to rule out infectious (encephalitides), degenerative, or neoplastic diseases.
  • To determine sources, it may be appropriate to submit specimens for analysis such as: feed. suspected insecticidal formulation - granules, liquid, old containers, etc., gastrointestinal tract contents and liver.

Treatment

  • Remove the animal from the source.
  • There is no specific antidote for organochlorines and treatment is aimed at reducing further absorption and hastening elimination from the body.
  • If dermal exposure is suspected, bathe the animal with plenty of water and avoid human exposure by the use of heavy-gauge rubber gloves.
  • Supportive and symptomatic therapy is advantageous.
  • Suggested drug for initial control is diazepam (dogs) or, if it fails (or for other species), phenobarbital or pentobarbital .
  • For prolonged CNS stimulation, the drug of choice is phenobarbital which may also stimulate mixed function oxidase activity to shorten half-life.
Last modified: Monday, 5 December 2011, 2:54 PM