Veterinary Medicine - August 2007 - (Page 534c)

the baseline peak vertical force on the injected leg (Figure 2). Weight-bearing capacity of the other NSAIDs ranged from 53% to 63%. At hour 18, weight-bearing capacity for firocoxib was approximately 95% of the baseline peak vertical force, while the other NSAIDs tested were between 76% to 87%. Although all four tested NSAIDs were effective in providing relief from the urate crystal-induced lameness, only dogs in the firocoxib group had no significant difference between lameness scores at the peak of the lameness effect (Hour 14) and at the group’s baseline (before the injection or NSAID administration). The findings of this study demonstrate that the ability Figure 2. Weight-bearing capacity I Firocoxib (5 mg/kg) I Deracoxib (1 to 2 mg/kg) I Carprofen (4.4 mg/kg) I Meloxicam (0.2 mg/kg) Percentage of baseline PVF 100 80 60 40 20 0 Hour 14 (peak lameness) Hour 18 Time after treatment Figure 2. Percentage of baseline peak vertical force (PVF) at hours 14 and 18 (four and eight hours after urate crystal injection). (No claim of superiority can be made from these data.) of firocoxib to prevent pain in this model compares favorably with the other NSAIDs. References 1. Ryan WG, Moldave K, Carithers D. Clinical effectiveness and safety of a new NSAID, firocoxib: A 1,000 dog study. Vet Ther 2006; 7:119-126. 2. Drag M, Kunkle BN, Romano D, et al. Efficacy of firocoxib in preventing urate-induced synovitis, pain and inflammation in dogs. Vet Ther 2007;8:41-50. From the expert Steven C. Budsberg, DVM, MS, DACVS, with the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Athens, Ga., shares his opinions on this important study. Only the firocoxib group had no difference between lameness scores at the baseline and peak of inflammation— what does this mean for practitioners? 1 Do you think these results using the urate-induced synovitis model for acute inflammation are applicable to patients with chronic osteoarthritis? 2 First, practitioners should be careful to not overinterpret the results of one study, especially a research model. Data taken from a research trial are not always directly transferable to a clinical situation. This is important information but is not as strong as data from a clinical trial. That said, these data support the assertion that firocoxib is effective in limiting inflammation and associated pain. When combined with previous data on the clinical efficacy of firocoxib, these data give practitioners an additional level of comfort that firocoxib will be effective in alleviating pain and inflammation in their osteoarthritic patients. This is an excellent question without a clear answer. The easy answer is that these data support the ability of firocoxib to limit pain. However, that answer is not without serious underestimations of the various complex pathways of pain transmission and modulation. Other NSAIDs on the market support their effectiveness with data from the urate model of acute lameness. In each case, long-term clinical efficacy data from dogs with chronic osteoarthritis seem to correlate with the efficacy from the urate model. Thus, one may comfortably assume a drug that is able to alter pain in this robust acute pain model will also be effective against the more chronic pain of osteoarthritis.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Veterinary Medicine - August 2007

Contents A Veterinary Medicine Interview Veterinary Voices Idea Exchange Diagnosis and Treatment of Solar Dermatitis in Dogs Diagnostic Imaging for Linear Foreign Bodies in Cats Overcoming the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges of Canine Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia Ophthalmic drugs: What’s new? CE Form Product Preview Advertiser Index Marketplace/Classifieds Mind Over Miller

Veterinary Medicine - August 2007

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