ABSTRACT
Rodenticide toxicosis commonly occurs in veterinary medicine, accounting for a significant number of the poisonings in companion animals. The common types of rodenticides include anticoagulant compounds, cholecalciferol, bromethalin, strychnine, and zinc phosphide. Cholecalciferol (CCF) rodenticides have been marketed under the brand names Quintox, Rampage, Ortho Rat-B-Gon, and Ortho Mouse-B-Gon. The diagnosis of CCF rodenticide toxicity depends on a history of potential exposure, appropriate clinical signs, and the development of hypercalcemia plus the ancillary indicators of hyperphosphatemia and azotemia. The presence of blood in the stool may mislead the clinician to the diagnosis of anticoagulant rodenticide. Historical considerations should include the use of anticoagulant rodenticides in the environment, evidence of consumption, season, and a repeated historical ingestion of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. Zinc phosphide has largely replaced strychnine as a rodenticide. Phosphides are used throughout the world in protect grains from rodents and other pests.
