Quantitation of Methamphetamine and Amphetamine in Postmortem Canine Tissues and Fluids

The production and use of the highly addictive stimulant methamphetamine are a serious public health problem in the USA and globally. Because of its increased popularity with recreational drug users, accidental or intentional poisoning incidents in companion animals have become an unavoidable scenario in veterinary medicine. We describe a case of methamphetamine poisoning in a 4-year-old female German Shepherd, with postmortem analytical quantitation of methamphetamine and its metabolite, amphetamine, in bodily tissues and fluids. Many tissues and bodily fluids can be tested to confirm methamphetamine exposure. More importantly, the higher concentrations found in stomach contents and liver, kidney and heart tissues suggest these are the most useful diagnostic specimens for postmortem confirmation of toxicosis in pets, especially in cases in which the source material is not available for testing or in cases with no postmortem evaluation.

Automated summary

The production and use of methamphetamine is a serious public health problem globally, including in the USA. Accidental or intentional poisoning incidents in companion animals have become common due to the drug's popularity. This case study presents a 4-year-old German Shepherd poisoned by methamphetamine, and discusses the use of postmortem analysis to confirm exposure and the most useful diagnostic specimens for toxicosis in pets.