Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Chronic thallium poisoning causing hair loss in five German Pointers
By Gassner, G et al.·Published in Berliner und Munchener tierarztliche Wochenschrift·2000·Klinik fü, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: [Chronic thallium intoxication in five German pointers of one litter].
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Five German Pointers from the same litter were brought in for skin problems, including redness, swelling, and hair loss. After testing, the vet found high levels of thallium, a toxic substance, in their urine, which helped confirm the diagnosis. The dogs were treated with a specific medication, and over the course of 1-2 months, their skin condition gradually improved.
People also search for: German Pointer skin problems · thallium poisoning in dogs · dog hair loss treatment
Abstract
The difficulty of diagnosis and therapy of chronic thallium intoxication is described in five German Pointers with the same skin disease. The detection of thallium in cases of skin lesions like the cutaneous erythema with oedema and crusts or in chronic cases with multifocal alopecia is difficult. The first diagnostic information was gathered in this case from the high thallium level in the urine. The thallium concentration in the hair is subject to great variations, even in physiologic conditions. The trichogramme showed in this case pathognomonic changes like adhesion of the hair follicles. Differential diagnosis for this symmetric alopezia without pruritus are hormonal disturbances or, in puppies, the generalized form of demodicosis. The five affected dogs were treated with Fe III-Hexacyanoferrat. The clinical appearance of the skin improved slowly during a period of 1-2 months.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10994256/