Pyometra in a Bitch Possibly Caused by Simultaneous Administration of Levonorgestrel and Estradiol Cypionate
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22456/1679-9216.95875Abstract
Background: Toxicological events in animals may be accidental or intentional and could occur in the home environment. These events could involve different agents such as pesticides, rodenticides, medicines, foods, and plants. Indiscriminate use of medication in pets by their owners is common. Self-medication of animals with drugs for human use can cause irreversible damage to their health. The emergency contraceptive pill (morning-after pill), comprising concentrated hormonal compounds, is sold freely in Brazil. The objective of this article was to report a case of pyometra in a bitch possibly caused by simultaneous administration of human emergency contraceptive pill along with a veterinary contraceptive medication.
Case: A 6-year-old bitch was referred to a Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for abdominal enlargement. According to the guardian, during estrus (30 days before the consultation) the female dog was covered. After intercourse, the owner administered a human emergency contraceptive pill (morning-after pill) and a veterinary contraceptive. Physical examination revealed severe dehydration (10%) and high temperature, besides the abdominal enlargement. The hemogram revealed leukocytosis with a left shift, characteristic of infection. After clinical examination, closed pyometra was suspected, and later confirmed by ultrasonography. Due to the poor clinical condition, fluid therapy was performed, and a systemic antibiotic was administered. After stabilization, the patient underwent ovariohysterectomy. In the postoperative period, the fluid therapy was continued, and antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drugs were administered. Two days after surgery, the patient was discharged for home recovery.
Discussion: Most cases of drug poisoning in animals involve female dogs, similar to the patient in this report. There is no theory elucidating the same, but the rate of incidence in female dogs has been reported to be higher than that in male dogs in the veterinary clinical routine. The administration of medicines at the guardian’s discretion, as seen in this case, is common in Brazil. The drugs involved may be of veterinary or human use. Drug intoxication is linked to the culture of self-medication. If the animal presents a symptom similar to that of a human, the guardian dispenses the same medicine used for him to their pet animal. Thus, it can be inferred that the guardian of the bitch in this report had the habit of self-medication and adopted the same conduct with the pet. The emergency contraceptive pill used here consisted of levonorgestrel, a progestin-type of hormone. No reports of levonorgestrel use have been reported in dogs; therefore, the mode of action of the drug in the canine species is unknown. The administration of progestogens in bitches is one of the main causes of reproductive diseases in the species. One of the diseases related to the use of contraceptives in bitches is pyometra. Despite the evidence, the human contraceptive cannot be determined as the cause of pyometra, because a veterinary contraceptive was also administered. Pyometra probably occurred due to the combined effect of both drugs. Thus, this case was diagnosed as drug intoxication. Veterinarians should be alert on this subject and invest in awareness and prevention of self-medication in animals by their guardians.
Downloads
References
Abreu B.A. & Silva D.A. 2014. Drogas relacionadas a casos de intoxicações em cães. Acta Biomedica Brasiliensia. 5(2): 71-78.
Araújo L.S., Araújo N.L.S., Alfaro C.E.P. & Carneiro R.S. 2014. Morte fetal em cadelas e gatas submetidas a tratamento com anticoncepcionais atendidas no Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Federal de Campina Grande. Acta Veterinaria Brasilica. 8(2): 193-194.
Bastos L.L., Ventura M. & Brandão E.R. 2018. Entre a biomedicina, a saúde pública e os direitos: um estudo sobre os argumentos do Consórcio Internacional sobre Contracepção de Emergência para promover o acesso aos contraceptivos de emergência em “países em desenvolvimento”. Cadernos Pagu (53): e185309.
Conceição J.L.S. & Ortiz M.A.L. 2015. Intoxicação domiciliar de cães e gatos. Revista UNINGÁ. 24(2):59-62.
Contri A., Gloria A., Carluccio A., Pantaleo S. & Robbe D. 2015. Effectiveness of a modified administration protocol for the medical treatment of canine pyometra. Veterinary Resort Comunicationns. 39(1): 1-5.
Feldkircher K.C.G. 2014. Intoxicação medicamentosa em animais domésticos. Revista Científica de Medicina Veterinária. 1(1): 14-18.
Figueiredo R., Borges A.L.V. & Bastos S. 2015. A Contracepção de Emergência como Conquista de Direitos Sexuais e Reprodutivos. Panorama da contracepção de emergência no Brasil. São Paulo: Instituto de Saúde, pp.15-22.
HORA H UNO: levonorgestrel. 2014. Olívia M.C. de Queiroz (responsável técnico). Anápolis: Indústria Farmacêutica Melcon do Brasil S.A, Bula de remédio.
Kahlenborn C., Peck R. & Sever W.B. 2015. Mechanism of action of levonorgestrel emergency contraception. The Linacre Quarterly. 82(1): 18-33.
Medeiros R.J., Monteiro F.O., Silva G.C. & Nascimento Júnior A. 2009. Casos de intoxicações exógenas em cães e gatos atendidos na Faculdade de Veterinária da Universidade Federal Fluminense durante o período de 2002 a 2008. Ciência Rural. 39(7): 2105-2110.
Quessada A.M., Carvalho R.L., Silva F.A.N. & Klein R.P. 2010. Uso de medicamentos sem prescrição médico-veterinária-comunicação. Veterinária Notícias. 16(1): 69-71.
Rodrigues N.M., Moraes A.C., Quessada A.M., Carvalho C.J.S., Dantas S.S.B. & Ribeiro R.C.L. 2018. Classificação anestésica do estado físico e mortalidade anestésico-cirúrgica em cães. Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia. 70(3): 704-712.
Sharif H., Hagman R., Wang L. & Eriksson S. 2013. Elevation of serum thymidine kinase 1 in a bacterial infection: Canine pyometra. Theriogenology. 79(1): 17-23.
Silveira C.P.B., Machado E.A.A., Silva W.M., Marinho T.C.M.S., Ferreira A.R.A, Burger C.P. & Costa Neto J.M. 2013. Estudo retrospectivo de ovariossalpingo-histerectomia em cadelas e gatas atendidas em Hospital Veterinário Escola no período de um ano. Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia. 65(2): 335-340.
Souza J.P.M., Moraes L.A., Pereira J.M.M., Silva S.P., Casseb L.M.N. & Casseb A.R. 2014. Uso de contraceptivos de origem hormonal e quadro hematológico na incidência da piometra canina. Veterinária e Zootecnia. 21(2): 275-278.
Stone E.A. 2007. Ovário e útero. In: Slatter D.H. (Ed). Manual de cirurgia de pequenos animais. v.2. 3.ed. São Paulo: Manole, pp.1487-1502.
Trautwein L.G.C., Sant'anna M.C., Justino R.C., Giordano L.G.P., Flaiban K.K.M.C. & Martins M.I.M. 2017. Piometras em cadelas: relação entre o prognóstico clínico e o diagnóstico laboratorial. Ciencia Animal Brasileira. 18(1): 1-10.
Trussell J. & Jordan B. 2006. Mechanism of action of emergency contraceptive pills. Contraception. 74(2): 87-89.
Xavier F.G., Maruo V.M. & Spinosa H.S. 2008. Toxicologia dos Medicamentos. In: Spinosa H.S, Gôrniak K.S.L. & Palermo-Neto J. (Eds). Toxicologia Aplicada a Medicina Veterinária. São Paulo: Manole, pp.117-133.
Zang L., Bing R.S., Araujo A.C.P. & Ferreira M.P. A. 2018. Retrospective Study of Small Animal Poisoning at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital from South Region of Brazil. Acta Scientiae Veterinariae. 46(1): 1584-1591.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
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