RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF ACCIDENTS WITH VENOMOUS ANIMALS IN DOGS AND CATS REGISTERED AT THE TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION CENTER OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL (CIT-RS) BETWEEN 2014 AND 2023.

Accidents involving venomous animals are a public health issue due to their frequency of occurrence and severity, especially in rural areas, where access to the health service can be difficult and there is a delay in care.Severity varies according to the causative agent, among other factors, but accidents are always considered clinical emergencies due to the high risk of death in the event of late treatment.This study looked at the frequency of accidents reported to the Rio Grande do Sul State Toxicological Information Center from 2014 to 2023, with the aim of broadening the veterinarian's clinical view of these cases.During this period, the most common types of accident were snakebites (49%), accidents caused by spiders (27.3%) and bee attacks (10%), respectively.Snakes of the genus Bothrops spp topped the ranking for the highest number of cases (96.3%), probably due to their wide geographical distribution and aggressive defense behavior.The same happened with accidents caused by spiders, where Phoneutria spp were identified as the main causative agents (49%).Their peridomiciliary habit and aggressive behavior may be related to the higher frequency of accidents caused by this genus.Accidents with bees were quite frequent (10%), and the risk involved is mainly due to the chance of massive attacks and hypersensitivity reactions.There were also accidents involving scorpions, which accounted for 6.5% of all notifications, and 15 accidents involving stinging caterpillars (3.63%), which do not represent accidents of toxicological interest because they are species of low medical importance.The number of accidents involving unknown agents was significant and may reflect significant underreporting.It is extremely important for veterinarians to be able to recognize clinical syndromes and make a diagnosis as quickly as possible.The Toxicological Information Centre can be a very useful tool in identifying agents and guiding standardized protocols, with the aim of optimizing patient prognosis.