Adverse Effect of Antibiotics Administration on Horse Health: An Overview.
Abstract: Antibiotics-based therapy plays a paramount role in equine medicine because of their potential pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics properties. Conventional antibiotics show bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties by interfering bacterial cell wall and protein synthesis as well as inhibiting RNA polymerase, DNase 1, and DNA gyrase. Antibiotics are extensively used not only for the treatment of varied bacterial infections but also the prevention of postoperative and secondary infections. Surprisingly, antibiotics such as sulfonamides or trimethoprim/sulfonamide combinations, benzylpenicillin, cefquinome, fluphenazine, enrofloxacin, and sodium ceftriaxone cause detrimental effects on horses' health, namely, diarrhea, colitis, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, dysrhythmia, arthropathy, ataxia, anorexia, seizures, peripheral neuropathy, and certain neurologic abnormalities. Therefore, in equine practice, it is essential to optimize and analyze the combinations, formulations, route of administration, and dosages of certain antibiotics before administration. This review overviews the mode of actions and pharmacologic attributes of certain antibiotics, commonly used toward the treatment of disparate horse diseases. Most importantly, special emphasis was given to spotlight the potential adverse effects encountered during the administration of antibiotics as therapeutics in horses.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2020-12-02 PubMed ID: 33478757DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.103339Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research article discusses the effects of antibiotics on horse health, highlighting both their beneficial effects in treating bacterial infections as well as the negative effects they can have, including various serious health conditions. The authors recommend careful analysis and optimization of antibiotic use in equine medicine.
Understanding Antibiotics in Equine Medicine
- The research starts by acknowledging the significant role that antibiotics play in treating horses. They are used extensively due to their potential pharmacokinetics (movement of drugs within the body) and pharmacodynamics properties (biological effects of drugs).
- Antibiotics exert their therapeutic effects through bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties, impacting bacterial cell wall and protein synthesis or by inhibiting various key enzymes.
- They are used not only to treat different bacterial infections but also to prevent postoperative and secondary infections in horses.
Negative Impacts of Antibiotic Use
- Despite their benefits, the article emphasizes that certain antibiotics, specifically named are sulfonamides, benzylpenicillin, cefquinome, and others, can cause negative effects on horses’ health.
- Detrimental effects include diarrhea, colitis, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, dysrhythmia, arthropathy, ataxia, anorexia, seizures, peripheral neuropathy, and various neurological abnormalities.
Optimizing Antibiotic Use in Horses
- Given the potential adverse effects, the authors advocate for a more precise and considered approach to the use of antibiotics in horses.
- This involves carefully analyzing and optimizing combinations, formulations, administration routes, and dosages of certain antibiotics before administration to minimize potential harm.
- The review provides an overview of the action modes and pharmacological attributes of different antibiotics typically used in treating horse diseases and outlines potential adverse effects to be aware of during treatment.
Cite This Article
APA
Khusro A, Aarti C, Buendía-Rodriguez G, Arasu MV, Al-Dhabi NA, Barbabosa-Pliego A.
(2020).
Adverse Effect of Antibiotics Administration on Horse Health: An Overview.
J Equine Vet Sci, 97, 103339.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2020.103339 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Research Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Loyola College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Electronic address: armankhan0301@gmail.com.
- Research Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Loyola College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
- Departamento de Nutrición de Rumiantes, Centro Nacional de Investigación Disciplinaria en Fisiología y Mejoramiento Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Forestal, Querétaro, México.
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Departamento de Nutrición de Rumiantes, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, México. Electronic address: abarbabosa@yahoo.com.mx.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Anti-Bacterial Agents / adverse effects
- Bacterial Infections / drug therapy
- Bacterial Infections / veterinary
- Diarrhea / drug therapy
- Diarrhea / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horses
- Sulfanilamide
Citations
This article has been cited 8 times.- Ullah A, Geng M, Chen W, Zhu Q, Shi L, Zhang X, Akhtar MF, Wang C, Khan MZ. Effect of Parasitic Infections on Hematological Profile, Reproductive and Productive Performance in Equines. Animals (Basel) 2025 Nov 14;15(22).
- Crabtree NE, Capper AM, McKinnon LH, Epstein KL. Perioperative factors and outcomes associated with antimicrobial therapy duration in horses undergoing exploratory celiotomy. Can Vet J 2025 Jun;66(6):653-662.
- Broeckl CV, Hiereth S, Straubinger RK. A comparative study evaluating three line immunoassays available for serodiagnosis of equine Lyme borreliosis: Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-specific antibodies in serum samples of vaccinated and non-vaccinated horses. PLoS One 2024;19(12):e0316170.
- Gomez DE, Kopper JJ, Byrne DP, Renaud DL, Schoster A, Dunkel B, Arroyo LG, Mykkanen A, Gilsenan WF, Pihl TH, Lopez-Navarro G, Tennent-Brown BS, Hostnik LD, Mora-Pereira M, Marques F, Gold JR, DeNotta SL, Desjardins I, Stewart AJ, Kuroda T, Schaefer E, Oliver-Espinosa OJ, Agne GF, Uberti B, Veiras P, Delph Miller KM, Gialleti R, John E, Toribio RE. Treatment approaches to horses with acute diarrhea admitted to referral institutions: A multicenter retrospective study. PLoS One 2024;19(11):e0313783.
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- Sun Y, Zhou Z, Shi Z, Zhao F, Xie M, Zhuo Z, De Clercq E, Pannecouque C, Kang D, Zhan P, Liu X. Design and optimization of piperidine-substituted thiophene[3,2-d]pyrimidine-based HIV-1 NNRTIs with improved drug resistance and pharmacokinetic profiles. Acta Pharm Sin B 2024 Jul;14(7):3110-3124.
- Lagounova M, MacNicol JL, Weese JS, Pearson W. The Effect of Dietary Synbiotics in Actively Racing Standardbred Horses Receiving Trimethoprim/Sulfadiazine. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jul 18;13(14).
- Mao Y, Chen Y, Liu C, He X, Zheng Y, Chen X, Wang Y, Chen W, Wu Y, Shen Y, Yang H, Ma S. Cefquinome Sulfate Oily Nanosuspension Designed for Improving its Bioavailability in the Treatment of Veterinary Infections. Int J Nanomedicine 2022;17:2535-2553.
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