Equine poisoning by coffee husk (Coffea canephora) in northern Espírito Santo, Brazil
Benezoli, Arthur ZamprognoGonçalves, Sara PalmejaniRondon, Diogo AlmeidaMoscon, Luiz AlexandreSchild, Ana LuciaMonteiro, Bethânia SouzaRiet-Correa, FranklinMarcolongo-Pereira, Clairton
Background: Brazil is the largest coffee (Coffea canephora and Coffea arabica) producer in the world, and Espírito Santostate is the second largest national producer of this commodity. Caffeine poisoning has been described in several animal andhuman species and is generally associated with accidental and/or intentional ingestion of caffeine-containing products. Inhorses, there are few reports in the literature about coffee poisoning, and most animals show clinical signs of excitability,involuntary muscle tremors, and chewing movements. Therefore, the objectives of the present study are to describe theclinical and epidemiological aspects of coffee (Coffea canephora) poisoning in horses in northern Espírito Santo, Brazil.Cases: Two horses from northern Espírito Santo presented with clinical signs of excessive sweating, reluctance to enterthe trailer, muscle tremors, aggression, incoordination, constant tremors of the lips and tongue, chewing movements, andfalling. Clinical signs began after the animals were confined in stalls containing coffee husk (Coffea canephora) for atleast one week. After three days in the stall, the horse began to show clinical signs characterized by excessive sweating,reluctance to enter the trailer, aggression, and incoordination. On physical examination, there was marked dehydration,tachycardia (120 bpm), tachypnea (80 mpm) and a body temperature of 39.1ºC. In addition, the animal had cecum andventral colon hypomotility. The horse was treated as soon as it was admitted to the hospital with a 10 ml / h intravenousdrip of Ringer lactate solution; 100 ml intravenous mercepton every 24 hours; 10 ml intramuscular vitamin B1 every 24hours, and 1.1 ml intravenous acepromazine 1%; when it showed increased excitability, it was treated for neurological signsand recovered four days after admission. The second animal was a three-year-old female Mangalarga Marchador horse,weighing 280 kg. The animal was confined...(AU)
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