Determination of an effective dose of eltenac and its comparison with that of flunixin meglumine in horses after experimentally induced carpitis.

The research article involves determining the effective dose of eltenac, an anti-inflammatory drug, in treating experimentally induced carpitis in horses and comparing its efficacy with flunixin meglumine, another commonly used treatment drug.

Study Design and Procedure

• The research was carried out on 40 healthy horses, which were induced with carpitis, a condition causing inflammation in the carpal (wrist-like joint) area of the horses.
• Prior to inducing carpitis, the horses underwent surgical preparation and were injected with Freund’s complete adjuvant to stimulate an immune response in the carpal region.
• Post-induction, the horses were monitored for signs of lameness and ranked according to the severity for random allocation to the treatment groups.
• The experiment included testing three varying dosages of eltenac (0.1,0.5,1.0 mg/kg of body weight), a control group given only the vehicle, and a group given flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg).
• Treatments were administered intravenously (i.v) daily for three consecutive days.
• Parameters including respiratory rate, pulse, rectal temperature, carpal circumference, flexion angle, stride length, signs of carpal hyperthermia, and pain were recorded at fixed intervals.

Results and Findings

• After comparing the treatments, it was found that 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg dosages of eltenac significantly improved (reduced the carpal circumference and increased the carpal flexion angle and stride length) the condition of the horses compared to the vehicle and 0.1 mg/kg eltenac dosage.
• No significant difference was found between the efficacies of 0.5 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg eltenac dosages, indicating a peak effect at 0.5 mg/kg.
• When compared to the flunixin meglumine dosage (1.1 mg/kg), no significant differences were noticed between the two treatment groups at the 96-hour mark for several monitored parameters.
• No adverse reactions were observed in any group during the study period.

Conclusions and Recommendations

• A dosage plateau for eltenac was established at 0.5 mg/kg which showed a similar effect as higher eltenac dose (1.0 mg/kg) and flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg). This potentially offers an effective and efficient treatment option for horses with carpitis.