Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood clotting problems after snakebite in dogs and cats
By Holloway, S A & Parry, B W·Published in Australian veterinary journal·1989·Department of Veterinary Clinic and Hospital, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Observations on blood coagulation after snakebite in dogs and cats.
Plain-English summary
A dog that was bitten by a snake showed signs of bleeding problems, including bruising after a blood draw and bleeding from the gums. Tests revealed that the dog's blood took longer to clot, indicating a serious issue with blood coagulation. In contrast, cats that were bitten by snakes did not show any bleeding problems or abnormal blood test results. The affected dog required careful monitoring and treatment to manage the bleeding complications caused by the snake venom.
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Abstract
Blood samples from 13 cases of snakebite, 6 in dogs and 7 in cats, were tested for activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT) and fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products (FDP). Four cases were tested for fibrinogen concentration. Based on the results of a commercially available ELISA test, 9 cases were caused by tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) and 1 case by a brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis). Three other cases had clinical signs and increased creatine phosphokinase values which suggested tiger snake envenomation. Although the period post-envenomation varied, results indicated a marked prolongation of the APTT and PT in 5 of 6 dogs. Three of these 5 dogs also had increased FDP values and 3 (of 3 examined) were hypofibrinogenaemic. Clinical manifestations of this coagulopathy were: haematoma formation after venepuncture (3 cases), gingival petechiae (1 case) and hyphaema (1 case). In contrast, there was minimal or no prolongation of the APTT and PT values, and no increase in FDP, in all 7 cats. Furthermore, no cat exhibited clinical signs of a coagulopathy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2619650/