Chloramphenicol plasma levels in the dog: a comparison of oral, subcutaneous and intramuscular administration

A history of antimicrobial drugs in animals: Evolution and revolution

The evolutionary process of antimicrobial drug (AMD) uses in animals over a mere eight decades (1940-2020) has led to a revolutionary outcome, and both evolution and revolution are ongoing, with reports on a range of uses, misuses and abuses escalating logarithmically. As well as veterinary therapeutic perspectives (efficacy, safety, host toxicity, residues, selection of drug, determination of dose and measurement of outcome in treating animal diseases), there are also broader, nontherapeutic uses, some of which have been abandoned, whilst others hopefully will soon be discontinued, at least in more developed countries. Although AMD uses for treatment of animal diseases will continue, it must: (a) be sustainable within the One Health paradigm; and (b) devolve into more prudent, rationally based therapeutic uses. As this review on AMDs is published in a Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, its scope has been made broader than most recent reviews in this field. Many reviews have focused on negative aspects of AMD actions and uses, especially on the question of antimicrobial resistance. This review recognizes these concerns but also emphasizes the many positive aspects deriving from the use of AMDs, including the major research-based advances underlying both the prudent and rational use of AMDs. It is structured in seven sections: (1) Introduction; (2) Sulfonamide history; (3) Nontherapeutic and empirical uses of AMDs (roles of agronomists and veterinarians); (4) Rational uses of AMDs (roles of pharmacologists, clinicians, industry and regulatory controls); (5) Prudent use (residue monitoring, antimicrobial resistance); (6) International and inter-disciplinary actions; and (7) Conclusions.

Selection of antibiotics for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius: time to revisit some old drugs?

The aim of this review is to consider systemic therapy options for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP). Infections caused by MRSP in small animals--particularly dogs--have been frustrating veterinarians in recent years. After a susceptibility test is performed, veterinarians are left to select from drugs that have not been frequently encountered on a susceptibility report. Some of these are old drugs that have not been used regularly by veterinary dermatologists. As MRSP is, by definition, resistant to all β-lactam antibiotics, including cephalosporins, penicillins and amoxicillin-clavulanate combinations, the β-lactam drugs are not an option for systemic treatment. As most MRSPs are multidrug resistant, familiar drugs, such as trimethoprim-sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones, macrolides and lincosamides (clindamycin), are also not usually an option for treatment. Therefore, veterinarians are left with drugs such as rifampicin, chloramphenicol, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides and vancomycin to choose from on the basis of an in vitro susceptibility test. Some of these drugs were originally approved over 50 years ago and may not be familiar to some veterinarians. Each of these drugs possesses unique properties and has particular advantages and disadvantages. Veterinarians should be particularly aware of the adverse effects, limitations and precautions when using these drugs. New drugs also have been developed for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in humans. These include linezolid, ceftaroline, daptomycin and tigecycline. Although these drugs are very infrequently--if ever--considered for veterinary use, the properties of these drugs should also be known to veterinary dermatologists.

Oral chloramphenicol in dwarf goats--influence of vasopressin on its absorption and effect of diet on its biodegradation in ruminal fluid samples

The biodegradation of chloramphenicol was studied by incubating the drug (at concentrations of 72, 48 and 24 micrograms/ml) with ruminal fluid samples from dwarf goats fed two different diets. Biodegradation of the drug was much faster in samples from animals which were fed with hay and concentrate than in those obtained from goats which were fed grass pellets only. Recently, it has been suggested that lysine-vasopressin injected intravenously induces closure of the oesophageal groove in cattle and goats. Therefore, the influence of lysine-vasopressin on the oral absorption of chloramphenicol (50 mg/kg body wt) was studied in dwarf goats, using two formulations of chloramphenicol. The results suggest that vasopressin failed to induce this reflex mechanism. Furthermore, the shapes of the plasma concentration-time curves after oral administration of chloramphenicol palmitate and chloramphenicol dissolved in propylene glycol were markedly different. Possible mechanisms for the observed differences are discussed.

Plasma concentration and disposition of antimicrobial agents in the dog

Although there is sufficient information on the pharmacology and therapeutic application of the antimicrobial drugs to permit their effective use, they are still often misused in canine practice. This paper collates the data on drug dose rate/plasma concentration relationships observed in dogs after the administration of specific members of the major antimicrobial drug groups and on the possible impact of drug disposition (distribution and elimination) on therapeutic effect. Some information gleaned from studies in other animal species is added.