Efficacy of guar gum-based ronidazole capsules as a treatment for Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats. Issue 2 (February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Grellet, Aurélien; Makhlouf, Seyf Eddine; Desquilbet, Loic; Hovhannessian, Fani; Boogaerts, Cassandre; Dore, Vanessa; Anthony, Myriam; Espana, Bernadette; Prouillac, Caroline; Kirilov, Plamen; Polack, Bruno; Perrot, Sébastien
• Is Part Of: Journal of feline medicine and surgery. Volume 19:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 177
• Page End: 184
• Publication Date: 2017-02
• Subjects: Cats -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Cats -- Surgery -- Periodicals; 636.8089
• DOI: 10.1177/1098612X15621353
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1098-612X

Abstract

Objectives: The aims of the study were to determine the in vitro drug release of guar gum-coated capsules of ronidazole, and to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of this formulation for the treatment of cats naturally infected with Tritrichomonas foetus . Methods: The pharmacokinetics of ronidazole were evaluated in five healthy cats and five cats infected with T foetus . In a second step, the clinical efficacy of these capsules was evaluated by a controlled, randomised, double-blind clinical trial performed in 47 infected cats from French catteries. In this study, cats were randomly allocated to either the ronidazole treatment group (n = 25) or a placebo group (n = 22). Ronidazole (30 mg/kg) q24h for 14 days was administered to the treated cats. After 14 days of treatment, the presence of T foetus was tested by conventional PCR assay. Results: In the pharmacokinetic study, a delayed peak plasma concentration was observed in healthy and infected cats, with no significant difference between these two groups (mean geometric mean of 9 h for time to maximum plasma concentration [Tmax ], 21.6 µg/ml for time to maximum plasma concentration [Cmax ] and 467.4 μg/h/ml for the area under the curve [AUC] in healthy cats; and 9.4 h for Tmax, 17.1 µg/ml for Cmax and 481 μg/h/ml for AUC in infected cats). In the clinical trial, T foetus was detected in 16% of cats from the treated group and 82% of cats from the placebo group at the end of the study ( P <0.001). No clinical signs of adverse drug reactions were observed. Conclusions and relevance: Oral administration of guar gum-coated capsules of ronidazole at a dose of 30 mg/kg once daily for 14 days delays the peak plasma concentration and eradicates infection in most cases.