Affiliation:
1. Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine East Lansing Michigan USA
2. Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine Ames Iowa USA
3. The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Columbus Ohio USA
4. University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine Athens Georgia USA
5. Department of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Purdue University College of Veterinary Hospital West Lafayette Indiana USA
6. Department of Medical Sciences University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine Madison Wisconsin USA
Abstract
AbstractObjectiveTo describe the overall clinical course of zinc toxicosis in dogs including source, time to source control, incidence of hemolytic anemia, acute liver injury (ALI), acute kidney injury (AKI), and pancreatitis.DesignRetrospective case series from 2005 to 2021.SettingSix university veterinary teaching hospitals.AnimalsFifty‐five client‐owned dogs with known zinc toxicosis due to metallic foreign body (MFB) ingestion.Measurements and Main ResultsThe most common source of zinc was US pennies minted after 1982 (67.3%). Forty‐five of 55 (81.8%) dogs survived and 10 of 55 (18.2%) died or were euthanized. Median length of hospitalization for survivors and nonsurvivors was 3 days. The most common clinical sequelae of zinc toxicosis were anemia (87%), ALI (82%), coagulopathy (71%), thrombocytopenia (30.5%), AKI (26.9%), and acute pancreatitis (5.5%). Most dogs (67.3%) required blood products and 83% of dogs achieved a stable HCT or PCV in a median of 24 hours after MFB removal. The median duration of illness prior to presentation was 48 hours for both survivors and nonsurvivors and there was no impact of time to presentation on the incidence of ALI, AKI, or pancreatitis.ConclusionsZinc toxicosis secondary to MFB ingestion should be considered a differential diagnosis for dogs with gastrointestinal signs, hemolytic anemia, ALI, hemostatic abnormalities, AKI, and pancreatitis. AKI may be a more common sequela of zinc toxicosis than previously suspected. Acute pancreatitis is a rare but potentially serious sequela to zinc toxicosis.