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Brodifacoum Toxicosis in Two Neonatal Puppies

Abstract

Eight out of a litter of 13 puppies were either born dead or died within 48 hours of birth. Three puppies that died shortly after birth were necropsied. Two puppies had hemorrhage in the thoracic and peritoneal cavities, intestinal serosa, and meninges. The third puppy was smaller than the other two puppies but did not have detectable hemorrhage. Brodifacoum, a second-generation coumarin anticoagulant, was detected in livers from the two puppies with hemorrhage. The dam did not have clinical signs of coagulopathy before or subsequent to whelping. The owners were confident that the dog had not been exposed to rodenticide for at least 4 weeks before whelping. A presumptive diagnosis of in utero brodifacoum toxicity was made. To the authors' knowledge this is the first time a second-generation coumarin anticoagulant has been detected in the liver of a newborn animal. This case is also unique because the dam was unaffected, suggesting that fetuses are more susceptible to brodifacoum toxicity than adult animals.

Key words: Anticoagulant; brodifacoum; canine; coagulopathy; coumarin; transplacental; vitamin K.

Request reprints from Dr. John S. Munday, Athens Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 (USA). E-mail: jmunday{at}vet.uga.edu.