Clinicopathologic findings in dogs and cats with ethylene glycol intoxication

Abstract

Clinicopathologic findings were retrospectively evaluated in 26 cats and 24 dogs with ethylene glycol intoxication. Common clinical signs were ataxia, depression, vomiting, and hypothermia. Characteristic alterations in the hemogram and serum chemical profile included neutrophilia, lymphopenia, azotemia, hyperphosphatemia, hypocalcemia, hyperglycemia, and decreased whole blood bicarbonate. Common urinalysis findings included isosthenuria, proteinuria, glucosuria, hematuria, calcium oxalate and hippurate crystalluria, and the presence of renal epithelial cells, white blood cells, and granular and cellular casts in the urine sediment. The high death rate (78%) was attributed to delays in presentation, diagnosis, and therapy.