Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hypoglycemia following canine ingestion of xylitol-containing gum.
- Journal:
- Veterinary and human toxicology
- Year:
- 2004
- Authors:
- Dunayer, Eric K
- Affiliation:
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center · United States
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-month-old neutered male Labrador Retriever became very sick after eating a lot of sugar-free gum that contained xylitol, a sweetener that can be harmful to dogs. He experienced severe low blood sugar, collapsed, and had seizures. The veterinarians treated him with intravenous dextrose, which is a form of sugar, and he started to get better quickly, although he remained slightly low on sugar for about 11 hours before fully recovering. It's important to know that while xylitol doesn't affect humans the same way, it can cause serious problems for dogs, and with more xylitol products available, cases like this may happen more often. The treatment was successful, and the dog fully recovered.
Abstract
A 9-mo-old neutered male Labrador Retriever developed severe hypoglycemia, collapse, and seizures after consuming a large quantity of sugar-free gum sweetened with the sugar-alcohol xylitol. The dog was treated with i.v. boluses and continuous infusion of dextrose; its condition improved rapidly, but the dog remained mildly hypoglycemic for 11 hours before recovering fully. In humans, xylitol has little to no effect on plasma insulin or glucose levels, but in dogs xylitol is a strong promoter of insulin release and can cause severe hypoglycemia with ataxia, collapse and seizures. With the increased appearance of xylitol-sweetened products in the US, xylitol toxicosis in dogs may become more common.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15080212/