Effect of ranitidine on intragastric pH in clinically normal neonatal foals.

This study investigates the effect of ranitidine, a drug used to decrease stomach acid, on the gastric fluid pH of newborn horses. The results indicate that both intravenous and oral administration of ranitidine significantly increases the pH levels in the stomach, suggesting that the drug may be beneficial in managing acidity in young horses.

Study Methodology

This was a prospective controlled study involving six healthy newborn foals of mixed breeds. A number of methods and procedures were utilized:

• Antimony electrodes were used to determine the intragastric (inside the stomach) pH.
• The foals were monitored on the second, fourth, and sixth days after their birth.
• The foals were subjected to three treatments – before treatment, pH was measured for 4 hours and then for 10 hours following the administration of ranitidine, and 20 hours following the corn syrup administration.
• Ranitidine was administered in two ways: 2 mg/kg of body weight intravenously (i.v.), and an oral dose of 6.6 mg/kg.
• Key data including mean and median pH values, and the percentage of time the pH was greater than or equal to 4, were calculated.

Study Findings

The study yielded several significant findings:

• The intragastric pH increased notably for 5 hours after the intravenous administration of ranitidine, as compared to baseline data.
• The percentage of time the intragastric pH remained greater than or equal to 4 increased considerably for 4 hours after ranitidine treatment.
• The median pH increased notably between the 2nd to 4th hours post ranitidine administration.
• The oral administration of ranitidine increased the mean and median pH from the 2nd to 8th hours following administration, while the percentage of time pH was greater than or equal to 4 increased from the 2nd to 7th hours.

Conclusion

The study concluded that neonatal foals have highly acidic stomach fluid. Both the methods of ranitidine administration (i.v. and oral) resulted in a significant increase in intragastric pH for periods of 4 and 8 hours respectively. This suggests the potential of ranitidine in managing the high stomach acid levels in new-born horses. It was also observed that suckling (breastfeeding) impacts the intragastric pH, suggesting the need for frequent feeding of neonatal foals.