Ethanol poisoning as a differential diagnosis in a hunter's dog with tetraplegia.
A 4.5-month-old German pointer was presented with tetraplegia. Based on the physical examination, a tentative diagnosis of idiopathic polyneuropathy or synaptic disorder was made. Later that day additional information from the owner revealed that the dog might have ingested sloe berries that had been used to make sloe gin. Ethanol poisoning was added to the differential diagnosis. The dog's locomotion recovered in the course of 24 hours. Faecal analysis revealed that the animal had ingested at least 127 gin-saturated sloe berries and it was estimated that the blood ethanol concentration would have been at least 0.75 per thousand. The aetiology, diagnosis, and treatment of ethanol poisoning in dogs is reviewed.
Lumeij
J T
JT
Division of Zoological Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yalelaan 108, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands. j.t.lumeij@uu.nl
D000818:Animals; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004285:Dogs; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism / Q000506:poisoning*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*
D000431:Ethanol