Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse pill ("bute") hemorrhage.
- Journal:
- Journal of clinical gastroenterology
- Year:
- 1988
- Authors:
- Cohen, M L et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Internal Medicine
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 33-year-old male racehorse track worker took phenylbutazone, a pain-relieving medication often used for horses, to help with a long-lasting toothache. Unfortunately, he ended up with a serious problem: he developed a major bleed from a stomach ulcer caused by the medication. This situation highlights the risks of using horse medications without proper medical guidance, especially for people who might experience stomach issues. It's important for doctors to consider this when treating patients with upper stomach problems who may have used these horse pills. In this case, the treatment for the bleeding was necessary due to the serious nature of the condition.
Abstract
Phenylbutazone (PBZ) is a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) that is not commonly prescribed due to the high incidence of serious adverse reactions. However, it is still used extensively in equine medicine, and is readily available to those employed in the care and management of horses. Such persons may take the drug indiscriminately, without medical supervision. We present a 33-year-old male race horse track worker who took phenylbutazone horse pills for a chronic toothache and subsequently suffered a major hemorrhage from a gastric ulcer. Human use of phenylbutazone horse pills should be considered by physicians confronted with patients who have upper gastrointestinal symptoms and gastric injury and who belong to this select group.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3262135/