Lecture 2

Question 0

what systems do you evaluate immediately upon presentation:

Answer 0

cardiovascular
respiratory
hemorrhage
seizures
hypothermia

Question 1

the 3 most common toxic substances to be seen in small animal hospitals

Answer 1

rodenticide
ethylene glycol
organo phosphates (pesticides)

Question 2

if animal is hypoventilating indicated by _________ and _______ what should you do?

Answer 2

indicated by hypercapnia (PCO2 > 45mmHg) and acidosis (pH = 7.35) you should ventilate with room air

Question 3

for hypoxemia indicated by ______ treat with _______.

Answer 3

indicated by PaO2 < 65mmHg treat with 40% oxygen

Question 4

to treat seizures (hyperactivity) what type of drug should you give? what are 3 examples?

Answer 4

GABA a-receptor agonists
diazepam
phenobarb
methocarbamol (causes skeletal muscle relaxation)

Question 5

what two procedures can help prevent oral toxicant absorption?

Answer 5

emesis and activated charcoal

Question 6

when should you induce emesis?

Answer 6

• in a clinically normal and stable animal
• should do within 60 minutes of known toxic ingestion
• intubate, wash stomach 3 - 4 times with warm water or until fluid is clear.

Question 7

what are the contraindications for emesis?

Answer 7

• if substance is suspected to be corrosive
• if undergoing seizures or convulsions
• in horses, ruminants, rodents or rabbits or birds
• unconscious subjects

Question 8

when would you use activated charcoal/

Answer 8

for organo compounds.

Question 9

how does activated charcoal work?

Answer 9

it tightly bonds and chelates the toxicants and sequesters them in the GI tract until they can be removed.

Question 10

when is activated charcoal contraindicated?

Answer 10

for corrosive agents

or ethylene glycol or Fe bc charcoal cannot bind to those compounds

Question 11

vomiting removes _____ of stomach contents

Answer 11

40 - 50%

Question 12

what is a cathartic?

Answer 12

helps moves things thru GI tract - increases rate of bowel movements

Question 13

what is a cathartic commonly used with and why?

Answer 13

its commonly used with activated charcoal to decrease GI transit time, increase movement of toxin-charcoal complex, and decrease possible absorption of the toxin

Question 14

what is an example of antidote?

Answer 14

vitamin K for rodenticide

Question 15

what is an anion gap?

Answer 15

the ratio between cations and anions

Question 16

cations =

Answer 16

Na and K

Question 17

anions =

Answer 17

bicarb and Cl

Question 18

significance of anion gap

Answer 18

the bigger the gap, the more of an indication that there is an acidosis response and the blood is becoming acidified. the more cations than anions in the blood, the bigger the gap and the more severe the acidosis is.

Question 19

what are the common toxins associated with an increased anion gap?

Answer 19

1. ethylene glycol
2. ethanol
3. iron
4. methanol
5. salicylates (aspirin)
6. strychnine

Question 20

what is an example of an emetic agent?

Answer 20

apomorphine

Question 21

what is an emetic agent commonly used in cats

Answer 21

xylazine

Question 22

when do you perform a gastric lavage?

Answer 22

as a last stitch effort - you do this when you are potentially dealing with a fatality. there is risk of perofrmation/rupture

Question 23

what are examples of emesis products you can use at home?

Answer 23

salt water, hydrogen peroxide

Question 24

when do you do whole-bowel irrigation?

Answer 24

for toxins that are not absorbed by activated charcoal