Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with vitamin D3 poisoning treated successfully but high
By Scheftel, J et al.·Published in Veterinary and human toxicology·1991·Watertown Veterinary Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Elevated 25-hydroxy and normal 1,25-dihydroxy cholecalciferol serum concentrations in a successfully-treated case of vitamin D3 toxicosis in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old spayed female German Shepherd ingested a rodent poison that contained vitamin D3, leading to dangerously high calcium levels in her blood. The vet treated her with calcitonin and prednisolone over ten days, successfully bringing her calcium levels back to normal. During treatment, tests showed elevated levels of a specific form of vitamin D3, which helped confirm the diagnosis of vitamin D3 toxicity. Thankfully, the dog recovered well after treatment and returned to her normal health.
People also search for: dog vitamin D toxicity treatment · German Shepherd high calcium levels · rodenticide poisoning in dogs
Abstract
A 4-y old, 27 kg spayed female German Shepherd dog was observed to ingest one 1-oz package of a rodenticide containing cholecalciferol. An initial serum calcium concentration of 15.7 mg/dl was successfully reduced to normal during 10 d using calcitonin and prednisolone. During that time, the serum 25-hydroxy and 1,25-dihydroxy cholecalciferol concentrations ranged from 637 to 315 ng/ml (normal 32 +/- 6 ng/ml) and 64 to 29 pg/ml (normal 34 +/- 19 pg/ml), respectively. Serum mid-molecule parathyroid hormone concentrations (76 to 97 pcmol/L) were within the normal range (85-140 pcmol/L). These data indicate that hypercalcemia seen in dogs following field exposures to cholecalciferol-containing rodenticides may be associated with elevated 25-hydroxy rather than 1,25-dihydroxy cholecalciferol. Consequently, serum 25-hydroxy cholecalciferol concentrations may be the most conclusive method for diagnosing hypervitaminosis D3 toxicosis in the live dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1654665/