Ethylene glycol (EG) is the sweet-tasting main ingredient of most vehicle antifreeze. It is rapidly absorbed, and its metabolites cause severe acidosis and acute tubular necrosis from calcium oxalate crystals. Cats are exquisitely sensitive and treatment is a race against time.
Key facts
Ethylene glycol toxicity at a glance- Species and system: mainly dogs and cats; kidney, CNS and acid-base balance.
- Source: antifreeze and engine coolant (up to 95% EG), some heat-exchange fluids, brake and transmission fluids. Skin absorption from topical products has caused toxicosis in cats (MSD).
- Minimum lethal dose of undiluted EG: 1.4 mL/kg in cats, 4.4 to 6.6 mL/kg in dogs (MSD).
- Classic presentation: an ataxic, "drunk" cat with vomiting in the first hours, then oliguric kidney failure 12 to 24 hours after ingestion in cats.
- Antidote: fomepizole 125 mg/kg IV for cats, started within 3 hours (Connally 2010).
- Not zoonotic or reportable. Season: most cases occur in fall, winter and early spring.
What's inside
13 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Working through a case
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 5 tables, 1 figure, 3 self-test questions and 3 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
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