Afloqualone is used in humans to relieve back pain and neuromuscular disorder as it has muscle-relaxant and sedative effects. Although there are no published reports of afloqualone intoxication in dogs, cases of intoxication by drugs that act similarly on GABA, like baclofen or benzodiazepines, have been described.
In two particular cases of accidental afloqualone intoxication in dogs, there were no previous medical problems, and the owners did not see the ingestion episode. The owners only assumed intoxication by the lack of tablets in the pill container and the clinical manifestations.
A 4-month-old, intact male Schnauzer, potentially ingested more than 100 mg (28.6 mg/kg) of afloqualone and he was taken to the hospital 15 hours after the episode, with a history of vomiting, hypersalivation, and collapsing at home. The other dog, a 3-year-old neutered male Poodle presumably ingested 280 mg (59.6 mg/kg) of this medication and exhibited ataxia, vocalizations, and generalized seizures while at home.
At the hospital, both dogs were considered dehydrated and normotensive but only the Schauzer was febrile. He was also semi-comatose and laterally recumbent, with ptyalism, a minimal menace response and decreased pupillary light reflexes. The pupillary light reflexes were absent in the Poodle, who was also comatose. Hematological and biochemistry exams were performed and both dogs were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).
While in the ICU, they were given supportive fluid therapy and experienced various convulsive episodes thus drugs like flumazenil and propofol were used. The use of barbiturates for seizure control is not recommended as they may cause more profound central nervous system (CNS) depression. The Schnauzer also revealed severe hematuria (possibly due to overdose) and consequently required further supportive care and monitoring.
The cases were not followed-up as often as advised due to financial constraints of the owners nevertheless, after discharge from the local hospitals, both dogs were acting normally at home.
Ahn, J. O., Jaung, W. J., Won, S. H., Ryu, M. O., Song, W. J., Jeon, K. O., Chung, J. Y., & Youn, H. Y. (2018). Accidental afloqualone intoxication in two dogs. The Journal of veterinary medical science, 80(1), 152–155. https://doi.org/10.1292/jvms.17-0305