Pharmacokinetics of ibuprofen after intravenous and oral administration and assessment of safety of administration to healthy foals.

The research article explores the pharmacokinetics and potential side effects of giving ibuprofen to healthy young horses, or foals, either orally or intravenously. It concludes that providing a dosage of up to 25mg/kg every eight hours for six days is safe.

Methodology

• Seven healthy foals aged between five and ten weeks were selected for this study.
• The researchers administered ibuprofen via intravenous injection and orally through a nasogastric tube, with dosages of both 10 and 25 mg/kg of body weight.
• After the administration, serum concentrations of ibuprofen were measured.
• The foals were also given ibuprofen orally as a paste (25 mg/kg) three times a day over a six-day period.
• Before and after this period, samples of serum and urine were collected for analysis.

Results

• The half-life of elimination (Kel t1/2), maximal serum concentration (C(MAX)) and clearance rate for both intravenous and oral administration were established.
• For intravenous ibuprofen administration, the Kel t1/2 was found to be 79 and 108 minutes, the C(MAX) was 82 and 160 microg/ml and the clearance was 0.003 and 0.002 L/kg/min for both the 10 and 25 mg/kg doses respectively.
• Oral administration showed a Kel t1/2 of 81 and 100 minutes and a C(MAX) of 22 and 52 microg/ml for the 10 and 25 mg/kg doses respectively.
• The absorption half-life was established as 13 minutes, and bioavailability was between 71 to 100%.
• During the six-day period, no adverse health effects were observed in the foals.
• While certain serum markers and urine enzyme activity showed changes, all measurements stayed within reference ranges.
• Although one foal had evident gastric ulcers, no gross or histological kidney lesions associated with ibuprofen were found at necropsy.

Conclusions

• The study concluded that ibuprofen can be given safely to foals at dosages up to 25 mg/kg every eight hours for a maximum of six days.