Electrocution in a Sloth (Choloepus didactylus) - Clinical and Surgical Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22456/1679-9216.122849Abstract
Background: High voltage electric shock causes serious injury to the body, which can lead to a fatal condition. Sloths are commonly the target of this type of accident and factors such as the degree of tissue impairment and late medical care can contribute to the death of the animal or the indication of euthanasia. In this way, the present This study aims to describe the treatment strategies in Choloepus didactylus victim of high voltage electrocution.
Case: A female sloth weighing 6.15 kg was treated at the Wild Animals Sector of the Veterinary Hospital (SAS-HV) of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) victim of high voltage electric shock with burn on the right side, stomatitis, glossitis, lesions extensive and bullous lesions in the thoracic and pelvic limbs, in addition to an open fracture in the radioulnar joint of the left limb with signs of necrosis. After patient stabilization (fluid therapy, antibiotic therapy, pain control, cleaning and wound dressing), the patient was admitted to the hospital. The main treatment strategies adopted were surgery, drug therapy, food and occupational therapy. The day after the patient's arrival, the amputation of the left thoracic limb was performed. On the third day of hospitalization, the right thoracic and pelvic limbs were also amputated, and on the tenth day, debridement of the right lateral face was performed. As for drug therapy, the following drugs were used postoperatively: ceftriaxone (40 mg/kg, BID, for 47 days), dexamethasone (0.5 mg/kg, BID, for 4 days), silymarin (15 mg/kg, BID, for 30 days), morphine (0.4 mg/kg, BID, for 14 days; 0.8 mg/kg, SID, for 22 days) and dressing wounds on the lateral face and surgical stumps with ointment based on of collagenase with chloramphenicol. In food management, the animal had good acceptance of a mixture of fruits, vegetables and animal protein in a pasty presentation. The treatment by occupational therapy included basic care such as exercising, sunbathing, and desensitizing the surgical stumps (massage therapy). In conclusion, after five months, the therapeutic protocol implemented resulted in the clinical improvement of the animal, as it allowed the complete healing of the lesions on the face and surgical stumps. In addition, the care taken with the surgical stumps allowed the animal to use them as support for its locomotion.
Discussion: Amputation and debridement surgeries were effective in treating electrocuted patients and should be considered when tissue is compromised, which justifies the surgical protocol adopted in this study. They were based on reports in humans, since in wild animals, although many are victims of this type of trauma, little is known about the appropriate therapeutic approach for each species. Surgical interventions associated with the antibiotic ceftriaxone were efficient for controlling the infection, since this antibiotic has a broad spectrum of activity, being used mainly in skin and soft tissue and/or bone infections, which justified its use in that patient. As for nutritional therapy, supplementation with animal protein may have contributed to the clinical improvement of the animal, since they are excellent components for tissue recovery in patients who suffered losses from burns caused by electric shocks. Stump desensitization is indicated as a treatment for neuropathic pain in amputees, and in the present study, it was essential for the animal to use the limb for locomotion. The exercises in a grassy area associated with sunbathing added as a stimulus to the patient's movement.
Keywords: two-toed sloth, amputation, nutrition, rehabilitation.
Título: Eletrocussão em Preguiça-real (Choloepus didactylus) - abordagem clínica e cirúrgica
Descritores: preguiça-de-dois-dedos, amputação, nutrição, reabilitação.
Downloads
References
Adam P.J. 1999. Choloepus didactylus. Mammalian species. 621: 1-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3504332
Brasil, Ministério da Saúde. 2014. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Ações Programáticas Estratégicas. Diretrizes de atenção à pessoa amputada. 2.ed. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde, 34 p.
Carmo C.C., Miranda J.M.S., Cavalcante J.S., Batista Jr. F.A., Silva A.L. & Ribeiro A.S.S. 2019. Eletrocussão em Preguiça-comum (Bradypus variegatus). Ciência Animal. 29: 27-33.
Clark A., Imran J., Madni T. & Wolf S.E. 2017. Nutrition and metabolism in burn patients. Burns & Trauma. 5: 1-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41038-017-0076-x
Fish R.M. 1999. Electric injury, part I: treatment priorities subtle diagnostic factors, and burns. Journal of Emergency Medicine. 17: 977-983. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0736-4679(99)00127-4
Gering A.P., Nascimento M.N.S., Lopes C.T.A. & Domingues S.F.S. 2017. Atendimento Emergencial de Tamandua tetradactyla (Linnaeus, 1758) Vítima de Eletrocussão: Relato de Caso. Journal LAVECCS. 9: 1-7.
Gomes A.B.S., Sá F.J.L.N., Ferreira J.G., Bernardo J.M.F. & Oliveira J.S. 2021. Dor Fantasma: Fisiopatologia e Abordagens Terapêuticas. Brazilian Journal of Development. 7: 1-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34117/bjdv7n7-165
Górniak S.L. 2006. Hipnoanalgésicos e Neuroleptoanalgesia. In: Spinosa H.S., Górniak S.L. & Bernardi M.M. (Eds). Farmacologia Aplicada à Medicina Veterinária. 4.ed. Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara Koogan, pp.176-184.
Guo S., Moiz M. & Slater D.H. 2019. Pain Management in a Case of Severe Electrocution Injury and Resultant Quadruple Amputation. Trauma Monthly. 24: 5-8.
Hayssen V. 2011. Choloepus hoffmanni (Pilosa: Megalonychidae). Mammalian Species. 43: 37-55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1644/873.1
Jesus P.H., Souza A.L.V., Pereira R.G.B., Sá M.C. & Morais S.G. 2019. Atuação da Fisioterapia na Dessensibilização de Pacientes Amputados. Revista Saúde dos Vales. 1: 208-216.
Kumar V. & Kumar V. 2015. Seasonal electrocution fatalities in free-range rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) of Shivalik hills area in northern India. Journal of Medical Primatology. 44: 137-142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jmp.12168
Landecker A. & Macieira Jr. L. 2002. Penile and upper extremity amputation following high-voltage electrical trauma: case report. Burns. 28: 806-810. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-4179(02)00196-1
Leonardi D.F., Laporte G.A. & Tostes F.M. 2011. Amputação de membro por queimadura elétrica de alta voltagem. Revista Brasileira de Queimaduras. 10: 27-29.
Lima D.A.S.D., Lima W.C., Rodrigues M.C., Quessada A.M., Santos K.M.M., Moura C.R.C., Magalhães C.S. & Sousa J.M. 2012. Trauma elétrico em preguiça de vida livre: relato de caso. Revista Portuguesa de Ciências Veterinárias. 107: 199-202.
Lima Jr. E.M., Lima V.M.M., Parente E.A. & Ferreira G.E. 2016. Padronização do tratamento cirúrgico do trauma elétrico na fase aguda. Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica. 31: 373-379. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5935/2177-1235.2016RBCP0061
Limakatso K., Bedwell G.J., Madden V.J. & Parker R. 2019. The prevalence of phantom limb pain and associated risk factors in people with amputations: A systematic review protocol. Systematic Reviews. 8: 1-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-018-0938-8
Oliger C.D. & Nicolai G.P. 2017. Característica anatómicas y biológicas. In: Manual de Manejo, Medicina y Rehabilitacion de Perezosos. Valdivia: Fundación Huálamo - Centro de Rehabilitación de Fauna Silvestre, pp.24-29.
Pachaly Jr. 2006. Terapêutica por extrapolação alométrica. In: Cubas Z.S., Silva J.C.R. & Catão Dias J.L. (Eds). Tratado de Animais Selvagens - Medicina Veterinária. São Paulo: Roca, pp.1215-1223.
Petrucci M.P., Pontes L.A.E., Queiroz F.F., Cruz M.C., Souza D.B., Silveira L.S. & Rodrigues A.B.F. 2009. Electrocution accident in free-ranging bugio (Alouatta fusca) with subsequent amputation of the forelimb: case report. Revista Portuguesa de Ciências Veterinárias. 104: 87-90.
Richards D.M., Heel R.C., Brogden R.N., Speight T.M. & Avery G.S. 1984. Ceftriaxone. A review of its antibacterial activity, pharmacological properties and therapeutic use. Drugs. 27: 469-527. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-198427060-00001
Rousseau A.F., Losser M.R., Ichai C. & Berger M.M. 2013. ESPEN endorsed recommendations: Nutritional therapy in major burns. Clinical Nutrition. 32: 497-502. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2013.02.012
Silva J.P. & Colombo Souza P. 2017. Perfil alimentar de pacientes internados por queimaduras em hospital público especializado. Revista Brasileira Queimadura. 16: 3-9.
Souza P.H.O., Bispo E.M.P., Santana J.F., Lobão G.A., Santos V.B.P., Oliveira Neto M.B. & Lima V.F.S. 2018. Queimadura por choque elétrico em sagui-de-tufo-branco (Callithrix jacchus, linnaeus, 1758) - relato de caso. In: IX Encontro Nordestino de Grupos de Estudos de Animais Selvagens – ENGEAS. Universidade Federal de Alagoas - UFAL (Maceió, Brasil).
Tabela Brasileira de Composição de Alimentos (TACO). 2011. Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Alimentação (NEPA). 4.ed. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas: UNICAMP, pp.30-51.
Vargas M.A.O., Ferrazzo S., Schoeller S.D., Drago L.C. & Ramos F.R.S. 2014. Rede de atenção à saúde à pessoa amputada. Acta Paulista de Enfermagem. 27: 526-532. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0194201400086
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Débora da Vera Cruz Almeida, Cinthia Távora de Albuquerque Lopes, Paulo Cesar Magalhães Matos, José Jones Pereira Júnior, Sheyla Farhayldes Souza Domingues

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal provides open access to all of its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Such access is associated with increased readership and increased citation of an author's work. For more information on this approach, see the Public Knowledge Project and Directory of Open Access Journals.
We define open access journals as journals that use a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. From the BOAI definition of "open access" we take the right of users to "read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles" as mandatory for a journal to be included in the directory.
La Red y Portal Iberoamericano de Revistas Científicas de Veterinaria de Libre Acceso reúne a las principales publicaciones científicas editadas en España, Portugal, Latino América y otros países del ámbito latino