Diagnosis and Treatment of Snake Envenomation in Dogs in Queensland, Australia

Abstract

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 (p = 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.