| dc.description.abstract | Knowing poisonous plants is essential for both small and large animal vets. Some
European countries already have a governmental “Poison Centre” collecting data
on phytotoxicoses. However, such data have not been systematically collected
in Hungary yet; animal poisonings are rarely reported. The reason for this could
either be an actual low number of cases or the insufficient botanical knowledge
of Hungarian vets. Thus, we aimed to assess their botanical knowledge. We
arranged an online survey with 50 single choice questions classified into
5 sections: a) identify toxic plants from picture, b) decide whether the plant
shown is toxic, c) match the right symptom related to the plant shown without
plant name, or d) with plant name, e) choose the plant related to the symptoms
shown. 133 vets and, as a reference, 62 veterinary students participated in the
survey. Both groups performed similarly; however, vets reached higher scores in
section e) perhaps by their greater practical experience. Everybody reached low
scores in section a) identifying Solanum nigrum and Senecio/Jacobaea spp. In
section b), 54% of all answers was correct. They chose more correct symptoms
when both the plant picture and name were shown (sections c, d). In section
e), symptoms caused by Lupinus spp. and Hypericum spp. were almost familiar
to everyone but the effects of Quercus spp. were rather unknown. Effects of
Sambucus nigra, Cotoneaster horizontalis, Lilium spp., and Nerium oleander
were rarely known; moreover, toxicity of Acer pseudoplatanus and Solanum
pseudocapsicum was rather missing. In conclusion, vets need further training
(presenting case studies) on plant toxicoses. To help vets publishing more cases
and make evidence-based diagnosis easier a toxicological database should be
created in Hungary. | en_US |
