Toxicosis Triage: The Poison You Didn't See Coming

Dr. Rosemary Stolzer, DVMCaninePre-RACE approval · credit hours set at approval

A double toxicosis in a 28 kg Labrador — 1 lb of 72% cacao baking chocolate plus xylitol gum — creates a race against two overlapping timelines. This course follows Luna from dose calculation through decontamination, arrhythmia management, hypoglycemia crisis, and hepatic recovery, covering the decontamination decision tree, the Big Five toxicoses, advanced therapeutics including ILE and fomepizole, and integrative hepato/nephroprotection.

Learning Objectives

  • 1Calculate theobromine and xylitol doses from product information and patient weight and apply published dose-response thresholds to determine clinical risk category and monitoring intensity
  • 2Apply the four-step decontamination decision tree — emesis indications and contraindications, activated charcoal dosing with sorbitol, multiple-dose activated charcoal for enterohepatic recirculation toxins, and gastric lavage criteria
  • 3Describe the mechanism, dose thresholds, clinical timeline, and management protocol for the five most common veterinary toxicoses: theobromine, xylitol, Lilium lilies, NSAIDs, and anticoagulant rodenticides
  • 4Select the correct advanced therapeutic intervention for specific toxicoses including IV lipid emulsion for lipophilic toxins, N-acetylcysteine for acetaminophen, fomepizole for ethylene glycol, and atropine plus pralidoxime for organophosphates
  • 5Implement an evidence-based hepato- and nephroprotection protocol using SAMe, silybin, NAC, and ursodiol during the post-toxicosis recovery phase and counsel owners on preventing future exposure

Course Syllabus

  1. 1
    Meet Luna — The Lab Who Ate EverythingPreview

    module-1-meet-luna

    Coming soon

    8 min
  2. 2
    Decontamination Decision Tree

    module-2-decontamination

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    9 min
  3. 3
    The Big Five Toxicoses

    module-3-common-toxicoses

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    10 min
  4. 4
    Advanced Toxicology Therapeutics

    module-4-advanced-therapeutics

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    9 min
  5. 5
    Integrative Hepato- and Nephroprotection

    module-5-integrative-support

    Coming soon

    8 min
  6. 6
    Luna's Double Toxicosis Resolution

    module-6-case-resolution

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    8 min

Final Assessment

10 questions · Passing score: 70%

Complete all course modules to unlock the assessment. Upon passing, your certificate of completion will be generated automatically.