Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat survives accidental vincristine overdose with plasma exchange
By Yeh, Natasha S et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2026·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Case Report: Successful management of acute vincristine overdose in a cat with metastatic gastric lymphoma using therapeutic plasma exchange.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old male Siamese cat accidentally received an overdose of vincristine, a chemotherapy drug, which was four times the intended amount. The vet first gave intravenous lipid emulsion to help manage the situation and then used a procedure called therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) to remove the excess drug from the cat's system. Although the cat experienced some breathing issues during treatment, the vet stopped the second part of the procedure and continued with supportive care and additional medications. Thankfully, the cat recovered and was discharged, showing that this treatment approach might help with similar cases of chemotherapy overdose.
People also search for: cat vincristine overdose treatment · Siamese cat chemotherapy side effects · therapeutic plasma exchange for cats
Abstract
A 10-year-old male castrated Siamese cat with gastric large B-cell lymphoma was presented following an accidental overdose of vincristine, four times the intended dose. The initial management involved administering intravenous lipid emulsion. Extracorporeal therapy was implemented to reduce plasma vincristine concentrations, beginning with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and followed by hemoperfusion (HP). Vincristine clearance was not confirmed through pre- and post-treatment serum levels due to a laboratory handling error. The patient became apneic at the initiation of HP, prompting discontinuation of treatment and completion of TPE alone. Post-TPE management combined intensive supportive care with the administration of cholestyramine, calcium folinate, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. The cat survived to discharge, suggesting a potential role for extracorporeal therapy in managing chemotherapeutic toxicity. However, the absence of pre- and post-treatment serum vincristine levels prevents a definitive assessment of therapeutic efficacy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41971029/