Vetgirl Veterinary Continuing Education Podcasts

In today's VETgirl podcast, we discuss hepatopathies secondary to zonisamide therapy in dogs. Zonisamide is an antiepileptic drug that can be used as a single or adjunctive treatment for seizures in dogs. Commonly reported adverse effects of zonisamide include sedation, ataxia, and vomiting, though idiosyncratic drug reactions have also been reported, including acute hepatopathies (de Luisa, Schwartz, Miller). Unfortunately, the overall incidence of zonisamide-induced hepatotoxicity is not known. Therefore, Smith et al performed a retrospective study to characterize the incidence of hepatopathies occurring secondary to oral zonisamide administration in dogs.