Raisin Toxicity

This is was written by a Vet in Danville, Ohio and posted on
"Scottie Show Dog" a chat group.

Warning for all dog owners

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever
seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56 pound, 5 yr old male neutered
lab mix who ate half a cannister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM
and 4 :30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and
shaking about 1 AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my
emergency service until 7 AM.

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me---had heard something about it, but....Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I V fluids at 1 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.

The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an I V catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At the point I felt the dog was in acute renal
failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor
urine output overnight as well as overnight care.

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have
continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a
diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they
still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output
decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his
phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been
staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220. He continued to vomit and
the owners elected to euthanise.

This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea
raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a
dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7
raisins could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or
raisins as treats. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Apr 29, 2004