How to work up a bovine toxicology case

Abstract

Toxicology cases involve approximately 10% of bovine cases typically seen in practice. Because toxicology cases are not seen every day you might not feel familiar with how to work up a toxicology case. Sometimes the hardest part of a toxicology case is deciding when the case you are working on involves a potential toxin. In this presentation I mention the commonly requested toxicology analysis involving cattle. History and a time line are critical parts of a toxicology workup. To be a good veterinary toxicologist you have to have good observational skills and know what common management practices can result in potential toxicology issues. Toxicology is not always just an overdose, many cases involving deficiencies that can mimic infectious disease. Collection of the correct feed sample is critical to making a diagnosis in toxicology. Many times the feed sample we need is not available because the actual toxicosis occurs days before. We collect a feed sample when animals are dying but many times this is not the appropriate feed sample. In many cases of vaccine failure or animals not responding to natural challenge with an infectious agent, nutrition is involved. Poisonous plant involvement in a case is always an enigma but can be worked out with the proper work up.