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Toxicities from Illicit and Abused Drugs: Overview |  |
| Exposures to illicit or abused drugs in pet animals can be accidental, intentional, or malicious. Occasionally, drug-sniffing dogs also ingest these substances. Due to the illegal nature of illicit or abused drugs, owners may provide inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading exposure histories. Illicit drugs are often adulterated with other pharmacologically active substances, making the diagnosis even more difficult. |
| In suspected cases of illicit or abused drug exposure, an attempt should be made to gather information about the animal’s environment; amount of exposure; and the onset time of clinical signs and their type, severity, and duration. These questions will help include or exclude possible exposure to an illicit or abused drug. Illicit and abused drugs are often known by street names that vary from area to area. A call to a local police station, or animal or human poison control
center, can be extremely helpful in identifying the illicit substance. Most human hospitals, emergency clinics, or veterinary diagnostic laboratories have illicit drug screens available and can check for the presence of illicit drugs or their metabolites in different body fluids. The presence of a parent drug or its metabolites in blood or urine may help confirm the exposure in suspect cases. Veterinarians should contact these laboratories for the types of samples needed and time
required for completion. |
| Commonly available over-the-counter drug test kits may be helpful in ruling out a suspected case of illicit drug toxicosis. These test kits are inexpensive, efficient, and easy to use. They are designed to detect drug metabolites in the urine and can detect most commonly available illicit or recreational drugs such as amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, opiates, and barbiturates. The sensitivities and specificities of these test kits may vary. The instructions provided with each kit
should be followed carefully for best results. |
