Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood clotting problems in dogs bitten by African puffadder
By Nagel, Susanna S et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary emergency and critical care (San Antonio, Tex. : 2001)·2014·From the Departments of Companion Animal Clinical Studies (Nagel·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hemostatic analysis of dogs naturally envenomed by the African puffadder (Bitis arietans) and snouted cobra (Naja annulifera).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old Labrador was brought in after being bitten by an African puffadder snake, showing signs of bleeding and low energy. Blood tests revealed that the dog's clotting ability was severely affected, with a significantly lower platelet count and prolonged clotting times. After 24 hours of treatment, the dog's condition improved, showing signs of better clotting and reduced inflammation. The veterinarians used specialized blood tests to monitor the dog's recovery, which helped them understand how the snake venom impacted his blood.
People also search for: dog snake bite treatment · Labrador bleeding after snake bite · puffadder snake envenomation symptoms
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate hemostatic changes in dogs envenomed by cytotoxic (African puffadder) and neurotoxic snakes (snouted cobra) using thromboelastography (TEG) and plasma-based coagulation assays. DESIGN: Prospective observational clinical study. SETTING: University teaching hospital. ANIMALS: Eighteen client-owned dogs; 9 envenomed by African puffadder (Bitis arietans) and 9 by snouted cobra (Naja annulifera). Ten healthy dogs served as controls. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Blood was collected at presentation and 24 hours post envenomation. Platelet count, TEG, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), antithrombin activity, and fibrinogen (Fib) and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations were measured. Outcomes were analyzed using linear mixed models at 5% significance. At presentation, R time was significantly prolonged in the puffadder group compared to the cobra (P = 0.01) and control groups (P = 0.05). Platelet count was significantly lower in the puffadder compared to the cobra (P = 0.04) and control groups (P = 0.001), respectively. Antithrombin activity was significantly decreased in the puffadder (P = 0.002) and cobra groups (P = 0.004) compared to the control group. Both prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were significantly prolonged in the cobra group compared to the control group (P = 0.03 for both). The TEG variables, maximum amplitude (MA) and G, were significantly increased 24 hours post envenomation in the puffadder group compared to their values at presentation (P = 0.05 for both). Fib and CRP concentrations were significantly increased 24 hours post envenomation in both snake-envenomed groups. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged clot initiation was a common feature in puffadder-envenomed dogs at presentation and this was likely venom induced. Snouted cobra-envenomed dogs were normo- to hypercoagulable at presentation. Dogs from both puffadder and cobra groups progressed to a more hypercoagulable by 24 hours post envenomation, most likely due to marked inflammation as indicated by the increased Fib and CRP concentrations. TEG proved a sensitive tool for detecting abnormal hemostasis in snake-envenomed dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25351524/