veterinary care

by: Stacy Simmonds, DVM, DACVECC

 

Intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE) therapy can be used as an adjunct for care in toxicities related to fat-soluble agents in dogs and cats when the ingestion of a toxicant has the potential to cause severe, life-threatening clinical signs. 

There are numerous case reports listing toxicants that are reportedly responsive to ILE, but there are no prospective, randomized studies in veterinary medicine regarding the use of ILE.  Intravenous lipid emulsion has not been consistently effective in all cases of fat-soluble toxicants. Dosing in animals has been extrapolated from human data, and ILE use is considered extra-label. 

The most supported theory for ILE's mechanism of action is that ILE provides a lipid sink effect in the vasculature which results in a decreased free drug concentration available to the tissues.  This can also affect other lipid-soluble medications being given while treating a patient for toxin ingestion. Adverse effects are considered rare and related to the emulsion's high lipid component; discontinuation of ILE administration often leads to the resolution of the adverse effects. Intravenous lipid emulsion can be life-saving in certain toxicosis cases and is considered to be a relatively safe therapy.