Valenza Ludovica, Allavena Rachel, Haworth Mark, Cochrane Jonathon, Henning Joerg
School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia.
Vet Sci. 2021 Jan 20;8(2):14. doi: 10.3390/vetsci8020014.
Australia has some of the most venous snakes in the world, and envenomations of domestic dogs are common, but clinical signs as well as the diagnostic procedures and treatments of snake envenomations are poorly described. Therefore, we invited veterinary clinics in the state of Queensland, Australia, to provide detailed data on snake envenomation cases in dogs. A total of 230 cases were reported from 19 veterinary hospitals, with an average of 12.1 dogs per clinic, per year. Detailed case data were provided from 20 dogs-of these, 65.0% (13/20) were envenomated during the daytime, with collapse and paresis being the most common signs reported by owners. The median time between the onset of clinical signs and admission to the veterinary hospital was 60 min. Clinical signs were the sole diagnostic modality utilised by veterinarians in 30.0% (6/20) of cases. Activated clotting time was the most common diagnostic procedure conducted, while snake venom detection kits (SVDK) were only used in 15.0% (3/20) of cases. Of the dogs that received antivenom (85.0%, 17/20), the tiger/multibrown combination (3000 units tiger/4000 units brown) was predominately (13/17) provided. Three of the 17 dogs that received antivenom (17.6%) died or were euthanised. About 82.4% (14/17) of the dogs treated with antivenom, but only 33.3% (1/3) of the dogs not treated with antivenom, recovered ( = 0.140). Overall, veterinarians relied frequently on medical history, clinical signs, and diagnostic tests other than the SVDK and, thus, most likely, administered snake envenomation treatment based on their clinical experience.
澳大利亚拥有世界上一些毒性最强的蛇类，家犬被蛇咬伤的情况很常见，但关于蛇咬伤的临床症状以及诊断程序和治疗方法的描述却很匮乏。因此，我们邀请了澳大利亚昆士兰州的兽医诊所提供犬类蛇咬伤病例的详细数据。19家兽医医院共报告了230例病例，平均每家诊所每年有12.1只犬被蛇咬伤。从20只犬提供了详细的病例数据，其中65.0%（13/20）在白天被蛇咬伤，主人报告的最常见症状是虚脱和麻痹。临床症状出现到入院治疗的中位时间为60分钟。在30.0%（6/20）的病例中，临床症状是兽医唯一使用的诊断方式。活化凝血时间是最常用的诊断程序，而蛇毒检测试剂盒（SVDK）仅在15.0%（3/20）的病例中使用。在接受抗蛇毒血清治疗的犬中（85.0%，17/20），主要提供的是虎蛇/多斑眼镜蛇组合（3000单位虎蛇/4000单位棕伊澳蛇）（13/17）。17只接受抗蛇毒血清治疗的犬中有3只（17.6%）死亡或被安乐死。接受抗蛇毒血清治疗的犬中约82.4%（14/17）康复，但未接受抗蛇毒血清治疗的犬中只有33.3%（1/3）康复（P = 0.140）。总体而言，兽医经常依赖病史、临床症状以及除SVDK之外的诊断测试，因此很可能是根据他们的临床经验进行蛇咬伤治疗。
