Human medications lead list of top pet toxins in 2023, data shows

It might not come a surprise in the practice to receive calls about a pet ingesting non-food items, but the critical fact for the veterinary team is whether or not that item is toxic.

In a statement released by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Animal Poison Control Center (APCC), data shows the top toxins pets are exposed to. Based on the organization’s total call volume for 2023, human over the counter (OTC) medications top the list for 10 consecutive years, making up nearly 17 percent of the APCC’s calls for the year.

The annual report comes ahead of ahead of National Poison Prevention Week (March 17 – 23) and shares data from more than 400,000 animals the ASPCA APCC helped across 50 states.

“Veterinary experts at the ASPCA Poison Control Center see a steady increase in call volume each year, which reflects an increased recognition of items that pose a potential risk to pets,” says Tina Wismer, DVM, DABVT, DABT, senior director of toxicology, ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

Food items come in second on the list, with protein bars and drinks, grapes and raisins, and products with xylitol (e.g. chewing gum) reported to contribute 16.2 percent of the calls. Recreational drugs, such as marijuana-based substances, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and cocaine made the top 10 spot for the second year. These cases received by the APCC involves pets ingesting marijuana-laced baked goods, which are reportedly more dangerous than ingesting plant material and can result in symptoms, such as stomach upset, urinary incontinence, and ataxia.

Additionally, the organization reports an increase of 74 percent in calls relating to hallucinogenic mushrooms versus the year prior.

According to Carly Fox, DVM, senior veterinarian in the Emergency & Critical Care Unit of the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center (AMC) in New York City, there is also a rise of mushroom-related cases in New York City. Further, Dr. Fox says combined toxicities (including mushrooms and chocolate for example) is quite common.

Dr. Fox shares the following tips to help practices handle toxic ingestion cases in the practice:

• If you are unfamiliar with the toxin ingested, have your client call the ASPCA Poison Control Center. I never regret using this service.
• Inducing emesis in outside of the suggested window of emesis induction can still be beneficial. Consider inducing emesis even after two hours in dogs that ingested chocolate, medications, grapes/raisins, and nuts. I have recovered several toxins between two and six  hours after ingestion.
• Dilution is not always the solution for pollution. Consult recent peer reviewed papers or the ASPCA Poison Control Center before just starting your patient on double maintenance. This can sometimes provide little benefit to clearing certain toxins and can sometimes cause harm, especially to patients with underlying cardiac disease.
• If your patient ingests high doses of NSAIDs or other dialyzable toxins, consider referral to a specialty hospital for therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) as soon as possible. This is a lifesaving procedure, but needs to be performed as soon as possible after ingestion in order to be effective. Do not wait until the pet is azotemic. Refer as soon as ingestion is suspected or after decontamination at your clinic.
• Carry intralipid in your clinic! It is a very inexpensive, shelf stable and a highly effective treatment you can use in general practice to treat many lipophilic toxins. This treatment is not for all toxins, but is very effective for severe marijuana toxicity, pyrethrin toxicity, tremorgenic mycotoxins, calcium channel blockers and baclofen.

View the full report of the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) Top Pet Toxins of 2023.